[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) — Video released to the FOX 8 I-Team shows a convict so desperate to stay out of prison he went to see a probation officer even after he had been shot.
Body camera video captured the moment Cuyahoga County sheriff’s deputies and protective services officers encountered Jovan Vereen.
“Bruh, I got shot right here, bruh. Out my stomach and in my back,” he said.
You quickly hear a call to dispatch from the officers and deputies working security: “Does someone have … you have anybody in the office to bring me a first aid kit?”
But this required more than a first aid kit.
Jovan Vereen made more effort than you’d ever expect to keep an appointment to see his probation officer. Last month, he staggered into the Cuyahoga County Justice Center after he had been shot.
“This is what we go through when we do the right thing. When we go to work. All this,” he said as he waited for treatment.
He told the story of what happened.
“I was coming out the house, coming out, and I heard these dudes. They walked up on me, and I told ‘em, ‘I ain’t got no problem with y’all.’ He just pulled out a gun and started shooting. I rolled off on a bike,” Vereen said.
The court security team then gets some bandages and tells Vereen, “What I can do is I can bandage it up until EMS gets here.”
Vereen showed a commitment to doing the right thing in a way not seen before. He kept his appointment after getting shot so that he didn’t get sent back to jail for not appearing.
“I ain’t want to not come down and get a warrant, then gotta go through the jail,” he said.
A deputy responded, “I understand, brother, but you got a gunshot wound.”
Vereen then says, “I’m a soldier.”
We checked court records and found Vereen has had Cuyahoga County convictions for gun charges, receiving stolen property and more. He’s on probation now, but we also checked with the state, and records show he has been to prison twice before.
So what about being on probation now? The Court told us Vereen is scheduled to be on probation until September. Nothing has been filed to end probation early, even after this appointment.
An ambulance took Vereen to the hospital. We were unable to contact him for this story. But, he made sure the court didn’t have to track him down despite being shot.
In fact, Vereen now needs justice. We’re told the shooting is under investigation.
Before going to the ER, Vereen said, “I was on the bike, they came up on me. I’m tired of going to jail.”
[Watch previous FOX 8 News coverage in the player above.]
CLEVELAND (WJW) — A former assistant principal at a local middle school charged with strangling a student during an altercation in the school’s cafeteria was sentenced to probation.
Lindsey Komora, 40, of Northfield, was indicted in December on two felony counts of strangulation as well as a misdemeanor count of assault for the May 4, 2023, incident. As part of a plea deal, she pleaded guilty Monday to the assault charge, while the strangulation charges were dismissed.
A Cuyahoga County judge sentenced Komora to one year of probation and ordered her to complete 80 hours of community service, as well as an anger management program, court records show. If she violates her probation, she could face up to 180 days in jail.
Komora, the former assistant principal of Garfield Heights Middle School, was seen on video putting then-13-year-old Ro’Shon Ballard in a headlock after he began arguing with another student in the school’s cafeteria.
“I don’t remember everything, but I remember my friends and my cousin were right there. Then I blacked out,” Ballard said at the time. “That’s when we got up and we were about to fight when they got the security guard. Got him, but he left and was out of the cafeteria.”
The boy’s mother Robbin said she was notified of “an altercation at the school,” but said she didn’t know that her son was put in a chokehold until she saw the video on social media.
Komora was placed on paid administrative leave following the incident and ultimately terminated on Sept. 30, a Garfield Heights City Schools spokesperson confirmed.
CLEVELAND (WJW) — A man police said fired “multiple times” on a pickup truck, killing one man, while traveling on Interstate 77 on Sunday night is now charged with murder.
Ian Rich, 29, of Newburgh Heights, stands accused of killing the truck’s driver, 57-year-old David Perez Jr., and injuring its passenger, 59-year-old Jacqueline Perez, both of Garfield Heights.
It happened just before 9:30 p.m. on I-77 South near Grant Avenue in Cuyahoga Heights, according to police.
“There is a truck that is kind of weaving back and forth. He’s got their emergency lights on. We just passed it. It’s got a bunch of bullet holes in the side window,” a caller told 911 dispatchers.
The truck’s passenger, Jacqueline Perez, was transported to a hospital where she was treated and later released.
After the shooting, police began searching for Rich, who was seen driving an Audi. He was deemed armed and dangerous.
Photo Courtesy: Newburgh Heights Police Department
Rich was charged Tuesday in Garfield Heights Municipal Court with felony counts of murder, assault and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.
He is now being held on a $2 million bond. He waived his preliminary hearing. His case is now set to go before a Cuyahoga County grand jury.
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.
CLEVELAND (WJW) — A federal judge has sentenced two former Cuyahoga County juvenile corrections officers to prison for illegal firearms sales. Some of the guns sold ended up on the streets and were used in crimes, authorities said.
Willie Earl Jackson, 26, of Cleveland, and Shane Plats, 31, of Ashtabula, both formerly worked in the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court as corrections and detentions officers, according to a Monday news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Authorities said Plats sold at least seven 9-millimeter pistols to Jackson in May and July of 2023 — guns he had previously bought from a federally licensed dealer — knowing that Jackson would resell them to others. Plats later admitted he sold the guns for profit, and without a license, according to the release.
That process is known as “straw purchasing.”
Then, the following June and August, Jackson sold more than 35 guns to undercover agents posing as street buyers. They included semi-automatic rifles and pistols, at least one of which had an “obliterated” serial number. The deals were often done from his car in parking lots and public spaces, according to the release.
He also offered to sell switches which can make a semi-automatic firearm fully automatic and to remove serial numbers from the guns he sold. Ballistics records from one of the rifles sold shows it was connected to three separate shootings, according to the release.
It’s not the first time that guns Jackson had purchased were involved in crimes, according to the release. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives previously investigated Jackson and wrote him in 2022, warning him that straw purchasing was illegal.
Jackson pleaded guilty to selling firearms without a federal license and trafficking in firearms and was sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Plats pleaded guilty to selling firearms without a license and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
Jackson and Plats were two of more than 65 people charged by federal authorities following a three-month violent crime reduction initiative in Cleveland last summer, led by the ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to the release.
Their two cases are the first in Ohio’s Northern District federal court to be sentenced under new criminal provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which President Joe Biden signed in June 2022, according to the DOJ. The statute specifically targets firearms trafficking and straw purchasing.
“It makes crystal clear that anyone who tries to make money by selling firearms or otherwise selling guns regularly must obtain a federal firearms license and run required background checks on those making the purchase. It also will help reduce the temptation for those who may legally purchase firearms to buy and then sell them to just anyone,” Rebecca Lutzko, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, is quoted in the release. “Unfortunately, we often see firearms, initially bought through legal channels, later recovered in connection with a crime. We are confident this statute will help put a stop to that.”
CLEVELAND (WJW) — A taxpayer turned to the Fox 8 I-Team with a video of a child getting out of a county vehicle outside a school. This comes after a recent firestorm over kids in City of Cleveland cars.
So, we investigated.
The citizen video shows a pick-up truck with a county license plate. A child gets out of the truck at a Cleveland high school. A taxpayer recorded it since he said he’d seen it before.
He also said he’s followed recent I-Team reports showing fallout from Cleveland city officials driving with kids in their government cars.
In light of all of that, Eric Williams took special notice of what he saw happening with a county car.
“I think there’s a trust put into people who have access to things paid for by the taxpayers. They shouldn’t be used for personal errands,” he said. “I’ve seen this many times.”
And, weeks ago the safety director resigned after admitting to us he had driven with his son in a city car. City policy does not allow for anyone in city cars except employees.
For this case, we took the license plate number and investigated which county agency uses that truck.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety sent a response with key information blacked out even though this involves a public agency. But, we kept digging.
We found that in this case, a juvenile got out of a truck that belongs to the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority.
Now, CMHA has issued a statement.
It said in part, “One of our non-executive employees utilized a CMHA vehicle to transport a non-CHMA affiliated individual during work hours. We are actively investigating the situation. We will determine which, if any, CMHA policies were violated and whether disciplinary action is warranted.”
That witness does not want government vehicles used for anything personal.
Erie Williams said, “We should be able to get to the bottom of who is driving, what they’re doing. Just make sure there’s accountability for the people we’re putting our trust in.”
In the meantime, the city hall has been conducting an overall review of the use of city vehicles. We’ll update this story once CMHA completes its internal investigation.
CLEVELAND (WJW) — Thousands of customers across Northeast Ohio were without power Friday and Saturday after wind gusts over 60 mph battered NE Ohio, however, many homes have seen power restored thanks to crews working around the clock.
According to FirstEnergy, as 2:30 p.m. Sunday, 1,600 Cuyahoga County customers are still without power. Other counties with FirstEnergy outages include 800 in Geauga County, 400 in Lake County, and 600 in Trumbull County.
Meanwhile those with Cleveland Public Power who may have seen their electricity go out were asked to remain patient.
“We understand your frustration, our crews have worked all night seeking to restore service. We do not have an estimate as each situation is different. The men and women are working to restore service as soon as possible,” CPP said in a social media statement Saturday.
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.”
He talked with FOX 8 News to warn people using their SNAP benefit program about a theft called credit card skimming.
“They are placing devices on or in card readers and stealing the data that way and find out when the benefits are loaded,” Gowan added.
Since February, the county’s SNAP benefit program has reported more than 400 incidents of credit card theft.
Gowan said they aren’t sharing that information to scare people. They are sharing it to show what a problem skimming has become.
“It’s significantly on the rise and troubling. This targets some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” Gowan explained.
Skimmers work well because they blend in well. However, you can expose a skimmer by physically checking the credit card reader itself.
If something feels off, something probably is off.
Gowan added another tip to prevent being scammed:
“The most simple and useful advice we can give is to change your pin on a monthly basis, on a regular basis, quite frankly.”
If you are the victim of public benefits theft, or if you know of suspicious activity, please contact the Cuyahoga County Public Assistance Fraud Hotline at 216-987-6950. You can also report suspected public assistance fraud online.
Download the ConnectEBT app to your phone. You can then easily lock and unlock your benefits card, keeping it locked when not in use.
[Watch previous FOX 8 I-Team coverage in the player above.]
EUCLID, Ohio (WJW) — Euclid police are continuing to investigate Sunday’s deadly pursuit that claimed the life of an innocent person.
Two suspects, a 17-year-old male and an 18-year-old female, were arrested Sunday.
Charges against the 17-year-old, who is believed to be the driver, may be filed soon in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court. Police are looking for a possible third suspect.
The chase started when Euclid police tried stopping a vehicle that had been stolen from two female victims at gunpoint in Cleveland on Friday.
The suspects refused to stop and led police on a high speed chase. The chase ended when the suspects crashed into another vehicle, killing Michelle Wall.
Wall, a 44-year-old mother of three, was on her way to church when the crash occurred.
Michelle WallMichelle Wall
Cleveland councilman Mike Polensek said family and friends are devastated and want answers.
“I want justice,” Polensek said. “I want justice for the victim. I want justice for her family and loved ones. My deepest sympathy for the victim.”
Euclid Police Chief Scott Meyer said he too is devastated by Wall’s death. He stressed suspects need to stop when police try to stop them.
He added that his department routinely reviews all pursuits and will review this incident to make sure all policies were followed properly.
“Our condolences go the family,” Meyer added. “I am devastated this happened. “
CLEVELAND (WJW) – “A chance to have my voice heard.” It’s a phrase FOX 8 heard often when asking residents in Cuyahoga County why they decided to vote in Ohio’s Primary Election.
With both the candidates for the 2024 Presidential Election already determined, Tuesday is all about the highly contested GOP Senate race.
It’s the only reason why John Wicktora says he’s voting in the cold.
“I want a voice in who is going to be the Republican candidate,” Wicktora said.
Stephanie Fry says she votes during every election, regardless of what’s at stake.
“Because it’s important. These are officials that are going to be representing us and our local community for years,” Fry said.
Going into the day, early voting numbers in Cuyahoga County were considered to be low.
The hope for at least one board of election official is a 40% turnout by the end of Tuesday.
Linda Stroemple votes during every election at Saint Pat’s Church located in Kamm’s Corners. She is stunned when finding out there’s no waiting around to cast a ballot on Tuesday.
“I was expecting a big line so I dressed warm, but people will probably come later,” she said.
For Stroemple and for several others we spoke with, the process to vote takes just about 10 minutes.
It’s a nice bonus in the cold weather, all in an effort to have their voice heard.
“If they were going to give away something free here every day, wouldn’t you come and get it? Well they are giving this away for free, so come and do it,” said voter, Bill Terwoord.
CLEVELAND (WJW) — Tirrell Edwards, convicted earlier this month of shooting and killing his fiancée Amanda Williams at their Warrensville Heights home last October, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Steven Gall sentenced Edwards to life in prison with the eligibility for parole after 24 years.
He’ll serve life with eligibility for parole after 15 years on his murder conviction. He’ll also serve an additional nine years for firearm specifications related to his convictions on murder, felonious assault and domestic violence.
Watch previous FOX 8 News coverage in the player below:
Warrensville Heights police in October responded to the home along Sunset Drive, where Edwards told police he killed his fiancée, 46-year-old Amanda Williams.
Police found Williams with numerous gunshot wounds. She was transported to a hospital, where she was declared dead.
Edwards claimed self-defense, but he gave investigators conflicting accounts of the incident, prosecutors said.
Williams was a mother and grandmother who worked as a hairstylist. Her pastor R.A. Vernon said the evidence in the case showed “a clear pattern of abuse and manipulation.”
“He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Williams’ brother Joey Lewis told the court. “I’m glad I met him so I can protect my daughter from people like him.”
Williams’ only son Tristan Bentley, 21, in a statement read by a family attorney, said his mother helped him decide to enroll in the U.S. Air Force Academy. Now, she won’t get to see him graduate in 2025.
“I learned a million things from her, even if it was not an intentional lesson. She showed me what a sophisticated woman looked like in this world,” Bentley wrote. “As I grow older and continue further in my life, I realize my life will never be the same.”
You can watch FOX 8’s 9:30 a.m. traffic report in the video below.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) – An intense lake effect snow band caused a slick morning commute in portions of Northeast Ohio.
Shortly after 9 a.m. on Thursday, Meteorologist Scott Sabol reported the line of snow was weakening as it moved off the lake but, the quick burst of snow made a big impact over several hours as it pushed through the area.
Shortly after 8 a.m., FOX 8’s Patty Harken reported a crash involving a car and school bus at the I-77 Northbound and I-490 merger. She said no injuries were reported on the bus.
Earlier, before 7 a.m., several accidents were reported on the Innerbelt Bridge. At one point, traffic in both directions on the Innerbelt Bridge was at a standstill. The portion of the highway has since reopened.
Here is a look at conditions in downtown Cleveland shortly before 6 a.m.
CLICK HERE to see current snowfall on the FOX 8 radar.
The Ohio Department of Transportation has lifted an earlier speed reduction on I-90 in Lake County. Early Thursday morning, at about 5 a.m., ODOT reported they had 160 crews out combating snow and ice.
FOX 8’s Patty Harken reminds motorists to take it slow on ramps, bridges, and overpasses when conditions may be slick.
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The shelter is offering $29 adoption fees on all dogs that have been at the shelter for longer than 29 days through Thursday, Feb. 29.
Adoptions, which are usually $95, include spay/neuter, vaccines, a 2024 dog license, microchipping and a current rabies tag, according to a press release from the shelter.
“We are hopeful that the community will take the leap and fall in love with some of the fantastic dogs waiting for loving homes at the shelter,” said Animal Shelter Administrator Mindy Naticchioni.
If you want to give a dog a new, happy home, head to the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter! The shelter is open Tuesday-Sunday from 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon – 4 p.m.
… researchers are now exploring cannabidiol (CBD), a component of marijuana, … of cannabis called cannabidiol (CBD) could possibly help. But … with naloxone, they found CBD accelerated the medication’s … tissue samples showed the CBD component reversed fentanyl’s …
