CLEVELAND — A Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted 10 people for their alleged roles in the downtown Cleveland riots that took place on May 30, Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley announced Wednesday.
The accused are all between the ages of 18 and 38, with charges mostly involving vandalism, theft, and property damage. The U.S. Department of Justice assisted local officials in the investigations.
Prosecutor O'Malley said:
"These individuals are just a handful of those who damaged or destroyed public buildings and police vehicles, and looted or destroyed dozens of private businesses. We will hold these individuals accountable as well as any others who are later identified. We are thankful for the dedicated work all of our law enforcement partners put into these cases."
The May 30 event began as a large protest against police brutality following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, and the vast majority of demonstrators were peaceful early on. However, clashes with law enforcement occurred with a minority of the crowd, and soon multiple cars and buildings were smashed while businesses were ransacked and looted.
The names of those charged are:
- Teirrah Billups, 23: Accused of using a baseball bat to smash property and stealing items from the Justice Center, Yours Truly restaurant, Geiger's Clothing, and Dollar General
- Andre Decosta, 18: Allegedly used a dolly to damage a Cleveland police vehicle as well as destroying cameras at the justice center
- Brian Copley, 38: Allegedly stole items after breaking into Karl's Inn
- Kasin Lane, 21: Accused of using his bike to break a window at the Cuyahoga County Courthouse Square office building
- Justin Tulloch, 22: Police say he damaged one of their vehicles near the Justice Center
- Chandler Knesebeck, 18: Accused of breaking into Boost Mobile store
- Thomas Dimaria, 27: Charged with stealing equipment from a Cleveland police vehicle
- Aharon Schur, 33: Allegedly damaged a Cleveland police vehicle and used a claw hammer to damage a Justice Center security terminal
- Tanis Quach, 31: Police say he threw a "large piece of concrete" through one of the Justice Center's windows
- Jessica Allen, 21: Accused of damaging equipment and stealing from Winking Lizard on Huron
Prosecutors say the 10 will be arraigned at a later date. Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson and Police Chief Calvin D. Williams issued the following joint statement:
"The City of Cleveland continues to recognize individuals’ rights to free speech and assembly and we appreciate that recent demonstrations have remained peaceful. The individuals who participated in the violence and destruction of our city on May 30, 2020 will be held accountable. In addition, we continue to look into matters of police misconduct on that day and have presented some of these investigations to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor for review. If you have information on criminal activity, please contact law enforcement."