CLEVELAND (WJW) — Two men are still in the hospital following an exchange of words and bullets on Wade Park Avenue early Saturday morning, Cleveland police reported.
Police were called to the 7400 block of the street just before 2 a.m. for reports of shots fired in the area. Upon arrival the found two victims, a 26-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man who told police they were approached by a 30-year-old man, whom police believe is the woman’s ex-boyfriend.
Police learned a verbal altercation led the ex-boyfriend to take out a firearm and shoot at the two others. The 32-year-old man took out his gun and shot back at the suspect, who was hit, police said.
WJW photo
All three people were eventually taken to the hospital. The woman was released, but the two others are still there. Conditions are not known at this time. No charges have been filed.
[Watch previous FOX 8 News coverage in the player above.]
CLEVELAND (WJW) — Three men accused in a May shooting that killed two people and injured two others in downtown Cleveland are now under indictment.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury has handed up an indictment charging Mark Hardy II, 27, of Euclid, and Kenneth Patterson, 23, of Cleveland, with three counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault, according to a Friday news release from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.
Da’Karai T. Johnson, 27, of Cleveland, was also indicted on four counts of felonious assault.
Authorities allege the trio was standing outside with a group of people near St. Clair Avenue and East 13th Street in Cleveland at about 3 a.m. on Sunday, May 26.
They began fighting and Hardy, Patterson and Johnson opened fire, hitting 28-year-old Ta’Von Thompson and 24-year-old De’Andre Smith, as well as a 26-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man.
The four victims were transported to a hospital. Thompson and Smith were later pronounced dead.
A relative of Thompson said the father of three was celebrating another person’s birthday that night, when he was caught in the crossfire, FOX 8 News previously reported.
Sources told the FOX 8 I-Team that gunshots struck a gas main, causing a gas leak outside of Read’s Jewelry and Loan store which was secured by Cleveland firefighters.
WJW photo
Investigators later determined Hardy and Patterson shot Thompson and Smith, while Johnson shot the two other victims, prosecutors said.
Cleveland police arrested Hardy and Johnson on June 6. Patterson fled to Tennessee and was arrested by state troopers there on June 12, according to the release.
The three men are set to be arraigned on June 20, court records show.
CLEVELAND (WJW) – Police confirm to the Fox 8 I-Team they are investigating a video that is circulating on social media showing a large fire under the chandelier at Playhouse Square, and a car driving in circles around the fire.
The incident took place shortly after midnight Sunday morning.
Police say they are trying to identify the people involved, including the driver of the vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to call Cleveland police as soon as possible.
No further information has been released at this time. Check back for updates on this developing story.
CLEVELAND (WJW) – Police in Cleveland held an update Wednesday afternoon regarding a deadly SWAT standoff.
Police were called to the scene at E. 154th Street and Hampstead Avenue just before 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Wednesday morning, Sgt. Freddy Diaz told FOX 8 they suspected two people were dead inside the home, but they weren’t able to confirm because of the ongoing standoff.
Diaz said someone called police and reported the suspect killed two people. Police later found two bodies inside the home.
They have not been identified.
Police say the suspect took his own life.
FOX 8 Photo
FOX 8 Photo
FOX 8 Photo
The suspect has not been identified.
Police did not discuss the relationship between the suspect and the victims. Police said it is still an active investigation.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) – Cleveland police are investigating after a Family Dollar employee allegedly shot a person who refused to show a receipt.
According to officials, at about 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, officers were called to the 3100 block of W. 110th Street for a report of a 20-year-old man shot in the ankle.
Police say the suspect is an employee of a Family Dollar store located at 10820 Lorain Avenue, about a half-mile from where the victim was found.
Based on an initial investigation, police report, the suspect attempted to verify a receipt from the victim’s purchase and when the victim refused to show the receipt, the suspect followed the victim outside where they were involved in a physical altercation and the store employee shot the victim.
The victim was transported to a nearby hospital.
Police said the 41-year-old suspect was arrested. A name has not yet been released.
Officials note: “This information is preliminary and subject to change as the investigation evolves.“
CLEVELAND (WJW) — A man who allegedly pulled a gun at the Marion-Sterling elementary school along Central Avenue on Thursday morning has been arrested and charged.
Students and school workers were not harmed.
The incident stemmed from a verbal dispute between two temporary vendors over a debt, according to a statement from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
One of the vendors pulled a gun on the other. The district notified Cleveland police and the man was arrested. He’s now facing charges of aggravated menacing and possession of a deadly weapon in a school safety zone, according to the district.
FOX 8 News has reached out to Cleveland police for more information.
CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team found a second suspect has been arrested for an arson fire that terrified a couple and an entire neighborhood.
We found a new warrant filed on Thursday morning.
Court record shows how two men set fire to a family’s home twice, but the first fire went out by itself.
Last week, a fire did heavy damage to a home on West 106th Street in Cleveland. The flames also did damage to neighboring homes.
A man, woman and child had to escape from the second floor.
Investigators determined the fire was purposely set.
Days ago, the I-Team revealed an arrest warrant for Tyric Green, who now sits in jail. A warrant showed the fire happened at the home of the landlord of Green’s grandmother.
Now, a second suspect has been identified and picked up by a fugitive unit.
Cleveland arson investigators found the two men had also tried to set the home on fire as people slept 24 hours earlier.
A quick check of Cuyahoga County court records showed no other felony cases for the two suspects.
CLEVELAND (WJW) — Cleveland police investigators shared a photo of a car they say was involved in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 24-year-old man earlier this month.
Officers just after midnight on Friday, April 5, responded to a report of a man who had been shot in the 18000 block of Euclid Avenue. That’s near a Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen.
Officers found a man laying face down in the street, unresponsive, with bodily injury and a possible gunshot wound. EMS workers pronounced the man dead at the scene.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Calvin E. Aldridge, 24, of Cleveland, and determined his death was caused by blunt-force injuries to his head and skull and brain damage, caused by a car crash.
Investigators learned the man was “staggering and walking in circles in the middle of the street” near the restaurant, according to a news release from Cleveland police. He then fell and attempted to stand up, but instead sat down in the street.
A car headed east, identified as a white 1983 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, hit the man and dragged him several feet, according to the release. The driver stopped, got out, walked around to the front-passenger side, then got back in the car, reversed, then continued forward, leaving the scene headed east, according to the release.
(Cleveland Division of Police)
The two-door car has a “distinct” appearance, with light-blue rims and a missing lock for the trunk, which is secured by a bungee cord, officers said. Its license plate reads “316 MC.”
Anyone who knows the car’s location or can offer information on the incident is urged to call the Accident Investigation Unit at 216-623-5295 or Crime Stoppers at 216-252-2463.
WASHINGTON (WJW) — A Cleveland financial planner who federal authorities said promoted a fraudulent tax shelter scheme to high-income clients has been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution.
Rao Garuda, president and CEO of Associated Concepts Agency Inc., promoted the “Ultimate Tax Plan” or “Advanced Legacy Plan,” in which clients got tax breaks for charitable donations of assets that they never actually donated, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Garuda continued to sell the scheme despite being warned by several attorneys that the scheme was illegal,” the DOJ said in the release.
When federal investigators subpoenaed Garuda’s clients, he created false, backdated documents and told clients to submit them to the Justice Department, according to the release.
A federal judge sentenced Garuda to 20 months in prison, with three years of probation to follow, and ordered him to pay $1.5 million in restitution.
The plan was organized and marketed by Garuda’s co-conspirator Michael Meyer, who was sentenced to eight years in prison on April 10.
Associated Concepts’ COO Cullen Fischel was also sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay $268,605 in restitution.
CLEVELAND (WJW) – The FOX 8 I-Team has found arrest warrants issued for two more suspects wanted in the murder of a young mother killed in a deadly shooting that also led to Cleveland police gunfire.
Cuyahoga County sheriff’s deputies have filed warrants against two men in connection with the death of Antwoina Carter.
Investigators recently released video showing a man hanging out of a car while firing shots at Carter in her car.
A chaotic scene also led police to start shooting, but the medical examiner found the woman was not killed by police gunfire.
It happened on St. Patrick’s Day, before dawn at East 105 and Garfield in Cleveland.
Deputies first filed charges of Aggravated Murder and Murder against 19 year old Trinity Ford. Detectives believe she drove the car used in the shooting.
We’ve learned investigators believe there were two passengers in the car during the shooting, and the new arrest warrants have been issued for them.
The warrants say both suspects did “with prior calculation and design, cause the death.”
Court records show Trinity Ford “did lie to police.”
Investigators wrote, Ford is the “owner of a motor vehicle captured on camera with the passenger shooting his gun and murdering a victim.”
While detectives believe Trinity Ford drove the car, the new complaint says she also had a gun.
The complaint says she did “with prior calculation and design, cause the death of Antwoina Carter.”
Police body camera video gave us the first look at what happened as it happened.
Investigators and law enforcement sources say officers saw cars speeding down the block, and they heard gunshots from one car. Then, officers started firing shots.
On the police video, you hear many gunshots before seeing any cars come into view.
You also then see officers firing shots, taking cover, and calling out, “Shots fired. Shots fired.”
Another video also shows at one point someone leaning out the window of one car shooting at another.
Meantime, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner found the victim did not die from police gunfire.
Dr. Thomas P. Gilson said, “Preliminary testing does not indicate that police activity was directly responsible for the decedent’s death.”
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department is investigating since the case involved Cleveland police using force.
While deputies have made an arrest for Obstructing Justice, they are still working to identify and arrest the gunman seen on the video firing shots.
This week the sheriff’s department said at the scene that police found Antwoina Carter at a vehicle that crashed.
The other vehicle took off.
Police had gone there after getting a 911 call just before 4 a.m. from a woman identifying herself as Antwoina Carter. She said someone was sitting outside her house who’d been threatening her.
Police say they also had been told someone had shot out a car window, but they did not shoot into the house.
As the city released the body camera video, Police Chief Dorothy Todd also released a recorded statement.
She stressed that Cleveland police are not releasing many details now with the case under investigation by another agency.
She said the video is only a small part of the investigation.
Law enforcement sources have told the I-Team that the officers believed someone was shooting at them.
The police union president has said he can’t comment on specifics with the investigation pending. But Sunday, Andy Gasiewski said, “100%, there was an element of self-defense.”
**Related Video Above: Homicide statistics in Cleveland in recent years.**
CLEVELAND (WJW) — Two teens are recovering in the hospital following a shooting on the city’s east side early Easter morning, the Cleveland Division of Police reported.
Authorities were called to the 1400 block of East 111th Street just after 1 a.m. for reports of gunfire and potential injuries.
Upon arrival, they found two females, a 13-year-old girl and 18-year-old woman, had been shot. The younger one was shot twice in the legs and the other was hit in the arm and stomach.
Cleveland EMS took the pair to the hospital, where police say they are in stable condition.
Anyone with more information regarding the shooting is asked to reach out to investigators at 216-621-1234.
CLEVELAND (WJW) – Cleveland police detectives are asking for the public’s help to identify a group of teenage suspects who have been terrorizing residents on the city’s near west side in a rash of violent carjackings and armed robberies.
One of the most recent crimes, which was caught on surveillance cameras, was committed on Sunday night outside the Edison at Gordon Square apartment building on Father Caruso Drive in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.
A resident reported that three teens armed with guns jumped out of a van and demanded his wallet and the keys to his pickup truck.
The victim complied and the suspects got into his truck and sped away.
Investigators say the gunmen are part of a group of teens who have committed a string of carjackings and robberies that have shaken residents in Detroit-Shoreway, Ohio City and Edgewater.
For many of the residents, the nature of the carjacking on Sunday struck a raw nerve.
“First off, we love this neighborhood. I’ve been here for ten years. I don’t ever want to leave but when you see this stuff on a daily basis and it’s becoming increasingly more violent and more often, it’s absolutely terrifying and the city needs to do something about it,” said one homeowner who didn’t want to be identified.
On Monday, police spotted the stolen pickup along Woodland Avenue near East 66th Street, and as officers approached, they reported that 13 juveniles bailed out of the cab and bed of the truck and then ran through the surrounding neighborhood.
According to the police report, the pickup, with no one behind wheel, continued to roll for several blocks before coming to a stop.
The officers noted that most, if not all, of the 13 teens were clearly armed with guns and that some of them were reaching for the weapons as they fled.
“It tells me that this is an organized group of people that are doing this and they’re creating havoc in the city. It’s just terrifying that we have to live with this,” said the concerned homeowner.
In response to the violent carjacking, Cleveland Ward 15 Councilmember Jenny Spencer issued a statement that reads:
“The carjacking that occurred at 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 24 on Father Caruso Drive is unacceptable and should not have occurred. Fortunately, the building managers of the apartment complex were able to act quickly and provided camera footage to 2nd District Police detectives. It is my understanding that at least one suspect has already been apprehended, and the car jacked vehicle was recovered. The Cleveland Police Violent Crime Reduction Task Force is actively pursuing other suspects. I’m grateful to our officers and VCRT for their quick action and service to our neighborhoods. I’ll continue to work with residents and building managers in Ward 15 to ensure that we’re doing everything possible to deter crime.”
Meanwhile, Clevelanders impacted by the carjacking and the spate of other crimes on the near west side have a message for city hall.
“To the city of Cleveland, you’re losing us. You’re going to let good people walk away from the city, who put money into the city, because of progressive policies that aren’t working. We need more cops, we need to be tougher on crime, it’s gotten out of control,” said the resident.
Anyone who can help identify the teen suspects is asked to call CPD Second District detectives at 216-623-2760.
It happened at East 105th Street and Garfield Avenue just before dawn on St. Patrick’s Day. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner said a gunshot killed 26-year-old Antwoina M. Carter.
Police body camera video gives us the first look at what happened, as it happened.
Investigators and law enforcement sources said officers saw cars speeding down the block, and they heard gunshots from one car. Then, officers started firing shots.
On the video, you hear many gunshots before seeing any cars come into view. You also see officers firing shots, taking cover and calling out, “Shots fired. Shots fired.”
“Preliminary testing does not indicate that police activity was directly responsible for the decedent’s death,” Dr. Thomas Gilson is quoted in a news release.
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department is investigating.
This week, the Sheriff’s Department said police found Carter at a vehicle that crashed at the scene. The other vehicle took off.
Police had gone there after getting a 911 call just before 4 a.m. from a woman identifying herself as Antwoina Carter. She said someone was sitting outside her house who’d been threatening her.
Police said they also had been told someone had shot out a car window, but they did not shoot into the house.
As the city released the body camera video, Police Chief Dorothy Todd also released a recorded statement. She stressed Cleveland police are not releasing many details now, with the case under investigation by another agency. She said the video is only a small part of the investigation.
Law enforcement sources have told the I-Team the officers believed someone was shooting at them.
The police union President Andy Gasiewski said he can’t comment on specifics with the investigation pending, but that “100 percent, there was an element of self-defense.”
Now, we’ve uncovered a chilling jailhouse phone call, and we’ve seen video and pictures tied to the travels of Kristel Candelario.
On Monday, Judge Brendan Sheehan sentenced Candelario to life in prison with no chance for parole — justice for Jailyn.
Candelario went away for 10 days. She left her toddler, Jailyn, home alone, and the girl died. At sentencing, Candelario faced a judge and spoke through an interpreter.
“Every day, I ask forgiveness from God and for my daughter, Jailyn,” she said.
Cleveland police homicide detective T.J. Powell told the judge, “This is, by far, the most horrific case I’ve ever investigated.”
Sgt. Teresa Gomez said, “Jailyn died a long and agonizing death, afraid and alone, while her mother enjoyed the beach and sunshine.”
Cleveland police found Candelario had gone to Puerto Rico and to Michigan.
She left her little girl in a home on Cleveland’s west side in a playpen with no food. The child also had nobody taking care of her.
Yet, police body camera video shows Candelario spoke calmly to police while making up a story after coming home and finding her daughter had died.
“She sleeps every day, 12 hours,” she said of her daughter.
An officer asked, “What was going on last night?”
Candelario answered, “Last night, she was crying a lot.”
The I-Team uncovered this investigation last year, just as it began. The case sparked outrage nationwide.
Now, we’ve learned what detectives dug into to be able to prove their case. They found key evidence after watching more than 600 security videos.
“Animals take care of their infants better,” Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Anna Faraglia said.
Cuyahoga County prosecutors showed video captured as Candelario left with a suitcase. Cameras showed the trail of her car. Plane tickets showed her trip.
Candelario’s attorney referred to mental health issues. Through the interpreter, she said, “I am not trying to justify my actions. But nobody knew how much I was suffering.”
But consider the mother’s words on a jailhouse phone call, transcribed by Cuyahoga County prosecutors:
“There are people who have gone free here, killing people … I mean intentionally, and mine was practically … I mean an accident … it is not like I did it intentionally … it’s not like I picked up a gun or a bat.”
Judge Sheehan cut through it.
“You could have found someone to watch her while you were gone,” he said, adding it would’ve been easy to avoid all of this.
He sent Candelario to prison for life on charges of aggravated murder and child endangering. Again, she will have no chance for parole.
The judge pointed out he saw no remorse. In fact, some of Candelario’s last words included, “God and my daughter have forgiven me.”
Police said Candelario has another child, but she had been away with relatives.
Officers and other first responders packed the courtroom hoping to be a voice for Jailyn.
In January, Kevin Del Valle-Salaman, 25, took a plea deal on lesser charges of tampering with evidence and obstructing justice.
He was scheduled to be sentenced at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 14, but the hearing was postponed.
Cleveland police said Valle-Salaman was with the shooting suspect, Jaylon Jennings, when Jennings opened fire toward a group of people on West 6th Street in early July.
Jaylon Jennings (left) and Kevin Del Valle-Salaman
Nine people were injured in the incident.
Investigators said Valle-Salaman waited in the car and then drove off with Jennings.
CLEVELAND (WJW) – Your neighborhood is supposed to be a safe haven. Right now, Cleveland’s Edgewater neighborhood feels more like a war zone to some who live there.
“I mean, I have found bullets on my roof. I have found casings in my front yard. There is constantly something going on in this area,” said a resident.
Wanting to remain anonymous but wanting his voice heard, a neighbor told FOX 8 that gun violence is a constant issue where he lives. The latest incident happened in mid-February:
“I mean, we had a full shootout on West Boulevard, it’s just terrifying,” he said.
Surveillance video gives a glimpse at what happened near West Boulevard and Desmond Avenue.
A man in a red hoodie fired multiple rounds into an apartment complex from the backseat of a car. Moments later, the car returned and multiple rounds were fired from the same suspect.
Apparently unsatisfied with the damage done, the car returned for a third round and final round of shots fired.
“We just got to stop the violence, man. The safer we make the neighborhood, the more people are going to stick around forever,” he said.
To make that reality, the man we spoke with is working with Cleveland City Council members and police to find a solution. Until then, he hopes this story helps demonstrate why change is needed.
“We have a lot of issues in this area that often go unaddressed because nobody talks about them.”
[Watch previous FOX 8 News coverage in the player above.]
CLEVELAND (WJW) — A 65-year-old man charged in the shooting of a 10-year-old boy was handed a $10,000 bond at his first court appearance on Wednesday.
George K. Zatik Jr., 65, of Cleveland, is charged in Cleveland Municipal Court with felonious assault in the Monday, Feb. 19, shooting along Gifford Avenue, according to court records.
Officers dispatched there just after 3 p.m. on Monday for a report of a person shot found the 10-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the stomach, according to Cleveland police. He was transported to a hospital.
A Cleveland police spokesperson on Wednesday told the FOX 8 I-Team the boy’s condition has since been upgraded to “stable.”
Sources have told the I-Team the shooting may have been accidental.
Zatik is due back in court on Feb. 29. He has been ordered not to have contact with the victim.
