CLEVELAND — A 36-year-old man faces a sentence of life in prison for the 2019 murder of a man at a gas station in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood.
Eric Yates was found guilty in March on several charges including murder and aggravated murder.
On January 10, 2019, Yates argued with the victim, identified as 27-year-old Sherrell Mattis, along with Mattis' 14-year-old cousin in a gas station parking lot near East 105th Street and Somerset Avenue. Yates drove away but returned approximately two minutes later, walked behind a dumpster, and fired several shots at the victim and teenager before fleeing the scene.
Mattis suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased. A woman, 27, was also injured in the shooting. The teenage victim was unharmed.
“After arguing with the victim, this individual left and then returned to the scene and fired numerous shots, killing the victim and injuring a bystander in the process,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victim’s family.”
The investigation conducted by CPD’s Homicide Unit identified Yates as the offender. Video surveillance placed Yates at the scene. During an interview at the Justice Center, Yates became enraged, threw hot coffee on a homicide detective, and was arrested.
The first eligibility of parole for Yates will be after serving 53 years in prison.
