CLEVELAND — The man charged in the brutal "execution-style" deaths of three people at a Cleveland auto repair shop more than a decade ago has been found not guilty.
In a bench trial decision Tuesday, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey P. Saffold acquitted 39-year-old Jesse Melton of all remaining charges against him, including murder. A jury had previously acquitted the East Cleveland native of six counts of aggravated murder in the case, but failed to reach a verdict on the remaining 14 counts, leading to a second trial which concluded this week.
The saga dates all the way back to Aug. 3, 2012, when the bodies of Brian Yuravak, Lori Sarl, and Babette Hockenberry were all found at Imperial Auto Sales in Collinwood. Sources confirmed to 3News at the time that all three had been shot in the back of the head, with no signs of forced entry into the building.
It would be another six years before Melton was charged with their murders. He had been in federal custody at the time for unrelated gun charges, and Cuyahoga County court records show he has served multiple years in prison for attempted robbery, drug, and domestic violence offenses, among others.
Despite this, both jurors and eventually Saffold ruled prosecutors did not prove their case against Melton beyond a reasonable doubt in the Imperial Auto killings, with an initial 2021 trial preceding today's verdict. After being held in the county jail for nearly five years on a $5 million bond, Melton now walks out of the courthouse a free man.
County prosecutors have not yet publicly commented on the ruling, nor have police indicated if there are any other suspects in the deaths of Yuravak, Sarl, and Hockenberry.