CLEVELAND — One of the two East Cleveland police officers indicted on charges after allegedly stealing from multiple individuals while on duty, appeared in court Tuesday morning for an arraignment.
Alfonzo Cole, 34, who appeared with his attorney Rufus Sims, entered a not guilty plea. A judge set his bond at $50,000 and ordered him to submit a DNA sample. Cole's pretrial is set for October 20 at 9 a.m. in Judge Michael Russo's courtroom.
Willie Sims, 31, was granted a continuance and did not appear in court Tuesday morning.
Last month, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley announced that Cole and Sims had been indicted for incidents that occurred from July 2020-July 2021. The indictments came just one week after two other former East Cleveland police officers were indicted by a grand jury for allegedly tampering with records and insurance fraud.
The charges issued against Cole and Sims include:
Alfonzo Cole
- Four counts of Aggravated Robbery
- Two counts of Grand Theft
- Three counts of Theft
- One count of Petty Theft
- Four counts of Theft In Office
- One count of Tampering With Records
Willie Sims
- Four counts of Aggravated Robbery
- Five counts of Theft
- Four counts of Theft In Office
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said both Sims and Cole are accused of stealing $14,781, suspected marijuana and two firearms from six total victims during traffic stops, search warrants and other calls between July 2020-July 2021.
In July 2021, a search warrant executed by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department at Cole's residence, recovered some of the stolen items, a news release from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office said.
Additionally, the investigation also revealed that Cole had forged an East Cleveland Police sergeant’s signature on a traffic citation issued in September 2020; the sergeant was not on the scene at the time of the traffic stop, the news release said.
To read a detailed breakdown of the indictment, click HERE.
Editor's Note: The following video is from a previous report.
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