Girlfriend says victim was fighting 'demons'

CELINA - Justin McHenry was fighting the "demons" of depression when he pointed a gun at a state trooper who shot and killed him early Sunday morning, according to his girlfriend.

"The whole situation was awful and I'm so sad he felt that was his only way, and that the trooper had to do that ...," said Amanda Fricke, who began dating 22-year-old McHenry in 2012.

She is heartbroken and wants people to know what a good man McHenry was, she said. She asked that he be remembered for his generous nature.

"All I really want people to see is the good man he was," the St. Marys woman told the newspaper.

McHenry was shot on Main Street in Celina near city hall about 1:30 a.m. Sunday after he exited his pickup truck and approached Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Brandon Chaney, who was sitting in his cruiser doing paperwork, according to reports. McHenry, who reportedly had been drinking alcohol prior to the incident, allegedly ordered the trooper out of the vehicle and then pointed a 9 mm handgun at him.

The trooper, a three-year veteran of the Wapakoneta post, reportedly tried to disarm McHenry before shooting the 2012 Coldwater High School graduate. McHenry, of Celina, was taken to a local hospital before being flown to St. Rita's Medical Center, Lima, where he died.

The trooper was not injured. He was placed on temporary paid administrative leave per OSHP protocol.

Authorities this morning said they're still not certain why McHenry confronted the trooper with a weapon. The two men reportedly had no previous contact before the shooting.
Few details about the incident have been released and the investigation by the Columbus-based OSHP is continuing, according to spokesman Craig Cvetan.
"Our investigators are still processing evidence they collected at the scene," he said.
McHenry is survived by his father, Union City Police Chief David McHenry. His mother, Angie Huss McHenry, died in April 2007 at the age of 36.
McHenry was employed for the past six months as an installer for Enyart Flooring in Coldwater. He had several minor brushes with the law since 2011. Most of the offenses were alcohol-related; two cases involved drunken driving citations issued by troopers.

McHenry as a sophomore participated in Cav football under now-deceased head coach John Reed. Current head coach Chip Otten, who was on the coaching staff at the time, recalled McHenry as a "hard-nosed, tough football player."

"He was not one of my position players, but I remember him as being respectful and pleasant to be around," Otten said, adding McHenry also was a good track athlete.

McHenry moved out of the district during his junior year and didn't play football when he returned his senior year, Otten said.

Principal Jason Hemmelgarn said the young man was a student in his geometry class.

"He was a gregarious person who was very comfortable in his interactions with people," he said.

Fricke said her boyfriend struggled with depression but his actions Sunday shouldn't define who he was.

"He was a good man and I don't want a moment of complete loss of control to the demons who took over him to be all people remember of him," she said.

Fricke said reports of the fatal shooting make her boyfriend look like a "monster, like he's just some angry drunk who hates cops and that's not the case at all."

"He would never, ever, kill someone. He has battled depression far longer than I've known him," she said.

She described him as a "caring, loving and funny, sweet soul" who had a generous nature to "anyone and everyone."
  "He was my best friend and gave me the courage and strength to change my life and leave the situation I was in," she said. "He was my other half, my happiness, my sadness, my success, my strength, my love. He was a rock to me and my daughter."

Their relationship was bumpy at times, she admitted, but they were "figuring things out" and "helping each other heal."

Fricke said she is haunted that she wasn't there to "save him" Sunday morning.

McHenry had no children but was "amazing with kids," including her daughter, Audri Alexis, Fricke said.

"My daughter was only 3 when he came into our lives; she just turned 7. She loved him and misses him and was trying to talk to his angel last night," she said. "Her and 'Justy' were best friends."

McHenry often pointed to the sky at night and told Fricke he loved her forever "past the stars," she said.

"We all love and miss him. And we will always miss his smile and corny jokes and loving support he gave unconditionally to his family and friends," she said. "He was my hero and that is what should be remembered of him."

Funeral services are 2 p.m. Saturday at Hogenkamp Funeral Home, Coldwater. Complete arrangements can be found in todays paper.