CLEVELAND — A court hearing for two former East Cleveland police officers in a 2018 bribery case scheduled for Wednesday, May 10, has been delayed.
Earlier this year, 53-year-old Von Harris and 29-year-old Demarkco Johnson each pled guilty to one count of bribery as a part of a plea agreement. Both were accused of providing "an individual with falsified police reports in exchange” for cash payments on three separate dates in the summer of 2018. Harris and Johnson also both permanently forfeited their Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy certification.
“An investigation conducted with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed Harris and Johnson falsified police reports and took money from the individual for their personal use,” prosecutors said. “The individual planned to file an insurance claim worth over $10,000 with the falsified police reports.”
According to a court docket, a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday, May 10 had been based on a motion filed by Johnson to withdraw his guilty plea. Sentencing for Harris may have followed the hearing on Johnson's motion. Minutes before the hearing was expected to begin, it was announced that it had been delayed.
Below is a timeline of the dates and details of the case as provided by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office:
- On June 13, 2018, Von Harris and Demarkco Johnson, in police uniform, provided an individual with falsified police reports in exchange for two cash payments of $200 outside of the East Cleveland Police Department.
- On June 20, Harris and Johnson provided an individual with falsified police reports in exchange for two cash payments of $200 outside of a gas station near Shaw Avenue and Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland.
- On July 24, Harris and Johnson provided an individual with falsified police reports in exchange for two cash payments of $500 outside of a gas station near Shaw Avenue and Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland.