CLEVELAND — A 19-year-old woman has pled guilty to her involvement in a string of robberies in Cuyahoga County and fleeing from the Cleveland Heights Police Department last fall.
According to the office of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mike O'Malley Jada Hite pled guilty to four counts of aggravated robbery and one count of failure to comply. Hite was accused of taking part in four robberies early last November, three of which she allegedly committed alongside Tamara McLoyd, who was found guilty on murder charges earlier this month in the killing of Cleveland Police Officer Shane Bartek on New Year's Eve.
McLoyd and co-defendant Jermaine Hagwood currently remain on trial for their involvement in the robberies.
According to the prosecutor's office, Hite drove McLoyd and Hagwood to Bunts Road in Lakewood at 9:35 p.m. on November 2. Once there, McLoyd and Hagwood approached a 22-year-old victim, pressing a gun to the victim's back before robbing the victim of a debit card, cell phone, jewelry and $105 in cash.
At 10:54 on the same night, Hite, McLloyd and Hagwood are alleged to have used Hite's vehicle to drive to Happy's Pizza on Detroit Avenue in Cleveland. Upon arriving, they entered through the backdoor as two employees, ages 25 and 32, were closing the restaurant.
The trio approached the employees with two guns and demanded that they open the drawers. Hagwood proceeded to strike one victim multiple times in the head with a gun and the trio stole $300 out of the cash register before forcing the employees to the back office, where Hagwood struck both victims with the gun. McLoyd, Hite and Hagwood are also alleged to have stole a handgun and car keys from the employees before fleeing.
Less than an hour later at 11:49, McLoyd and Hagwood approached a 58-year-old victim as she was walking home near Lee Road and Cedar Road in Cleveland Heights. They proceeded to hold the victim at gunpoint before stealing her purse, with Hite driving McLoyd and Hagwood away in her vehicle.
A Cleveland Heights police officer who witnessed the incident located the vehicle and unsuccessfully attempted to pull it over as the trio continued to flee.
On November 4, Hite and Hagwood are alleged to have approached a 33-year-old victim on Edgewater Drive in Lakewood. They proceeded to rob the victim at gunpoint, taking $60 in cash, a cell phone, a pair of earrings and a bottle of wine before fleeing the scene.
