CLEVELAND — A grand jury on Tuesday returned a lengthy indictment against an 18-year-old man that accuses him and two juvenile teens of perpetuating a "crime spree" across Cleveland's east side that included the alleged carjacking of an Ohio State football coach.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley says Ja'Brian Howard now faces a total of 20 charges stemming from a series of incidents that mostly occurred on Dec. 11. Additionally, two boys ages 15 and 17 have been indicted in juvenile court, while two other women face lesser charges directly related to the series of events.
Howard was arraigned on Friday morning where a bond of $100,000 was set. He is scheduled to appear in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on Jan. 3, at 9 a.m. for a pre-trial hearing.
The case stems back to last week, when police confirmed an OSU assistant had been carjacked in the parking lot of the Ginn Academy while on a recruiting visit. The victim, since identified as 28-year-old tight ends coach Keenan Bailey, told investigators a teen approached him around 2 p.m. that Monday and stole his rented Dodge Durango at gunpoint. Authorities tracked Bailey's iPad, but found it cracked on the ground some distance away along with a passport and suitcases.
Per O'Malley's office, the theft against Bailey was just the first in a series of similar crimes that would take place within a span of two hours.
Just 30 minutes after the first robbery, officials claim Howard and the two boys threatened to kill a woman who was parked in her driveway near East 103rd Street and Elk Avenue along with her three children. The woman instead sped away and called Cleveland police, while the trio of suspects fled in Bailey's Durango.
Fifteen minutes passed before prosecutors say the teens approached a 67-year-old woman and one of them pulled a gun on her near Parkwood Drive and Bryant Avenue while she sat in her car. Again, she drove away and called police while the suspects fled.
It was not until 4 p.m. when officers spotted the Durango on Lakeview Road with the three males — along with 19-year-old Anyrie Wallace and 18-year-old Aringwa Harris — inside. The group allegedly drove through a number of red lights and stop signs while being tracked by a Cleveland police helicopter, finally running on foot from the vehicle on Whitmore Avenue before four of them were arrested (Harris was identified later).
Howard and Wallace appeared in Cleveland Municipal Court on Wednesday, with both being held on six-figure bonds. In addition, prosecutors linked Howard to a separate incident back on Nov. 1, when witnesses say he fired several gunshots before pistol-whipping a 61-year-old man who was with his 6-year-old son at an ATM machine. The victim handed over cash before firing his own gun in self defense, hitting Howard in the stomach and the 15-year-old suspect in the arm. More gunfire ensued before Howard and his purported accomplice drove away in another car law enforcement believe was stolen.
"This case demonstrates the amount of destruction we are seeing being caused by a small group of individuals," O'Malley said in a statement today. "Thankfully, the Cleveland Division of Police was able to apprehend these individuals quickly."
All of the suspects will be arraigned at a later date. The charges against Howard are as follows:
- Aggravated robbery (four counts)
- Robbery (four counts)
- Attempted kidnapping (four counts)
- Felonious assault (two counts)
- Failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer (two counts)
- Discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises
- Improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation or a school safety zone
- Improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle
- Receiving stolen property
Also, Wallace and Harris are each charged with improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property.