Cincinnati police are still searching for a 32-year-old man wanted on a murder charge nearly a year after a deadly shooting followed a heated argument on the city's west side. Investigators say Edinson Antoni Guaita Ascanio remains at large and should be considered armed and dangerous.
According to WKRC, homicide investigators say a verbal altercation ended in a fatal shooting nearly a year ago, when Ascanio shot the victim with a firearm, causing fatal injuries. Police describe Ascanio as 5 feet 8 inches tall and 160 pounds, and say he has no known criminal history. He was last known to live on Iliff Avenue in Price Hill.
The shooting happened in the 5000 block of Hawaiian Terrace at approximately 4 a.m., per WCPO, which identified the victim as 26-year-old Jhonny Jesus Merado-Perez. Earlier reporting from the same station that first broke the case spelled the victim's name differently, as Jhonny Mercado-Perez, 26, and said he was shot and killed at about 4 a.m. on Hawaiian Terrace during a party on October 12, 2025. Witnesses told police that Ascanio shot Mercado-Perez, who was unarmed, during an argument at the gathering, that earlier report said.
No Criminal Record, Still Considered Dangerous
What stands out in the case is the gap between Ascanio's background and the severity of the charge against him. Police say he has no known criminal history, yet he remains wanted on a murder charge and is to be treated as armed and dangerous should anyone encounter him. Investigators have not said what prompted the argument that preceded the shooting.
Anyone with information on Ascanio's whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (513)-352-3040, the report noted.
A Year of Historically Low Violence in Cincinnati
The unresolved case comes as Cincinnati has otherwise logged one of its quieter years for violence in recent memory. As of September 22, the city had recorded 40 homicides in 2026, the lowest total through that date since 2012, when only 36 had been recorded by the same point, according to a report citing city crime data. The city's three-year average for homicides is down nearly 24% this year, the same report noted.
Shootings, both fatal and nonfatal, have held at a level similar to 2025, which itself marked a historic low, that reporting found. Shootings fell 19% in 2025 and were down 41% from the city's recent peak in 2020. Officials cited in the report also pointed to a 250% increase in police walking patrols compared with the previous year. Over-the-Rhine, which recorded nine killings in 2025, more than any other Cincinnati neighborhood, had seen none in 2026 through the time of that reporting.
Despite that broader downward trend, the Hawaiian Terrace case remains an open wound for investigators, who are still working to locate Ascanio nearly a year after the shooting.
