A 25-count indictment was handed down Friday against two men who police and prosecutors say terrorized the city of Cleveland for weeks.
Devaughn Taylor, 18, is charged with attempted murder, felonious assault, and improperly discharging firearms into a habitation.
According to court records, his accomplice Leslie Robinson, 28, is charged with felonious assault and improperly discharging firearms into a habitation.
Taylor is in custody, but police are still searching for Robinson, who is considered to be armed and dangerous.
“They’re very dangerous individuals, they have a complete disregard for all life,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley.
According to O’Malley and Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams, Taylor and Robinson are responsible for shooting three people in the span of six weeks — and shooting at four Cleveland police officers who were investigating one of the crimes.
The crimes began on April 2, when two 27-year-old brothers were shot on Ansel Road in Cleveland. One was shot in the chest and recently came out of a coma.
Then on April 14, two people were sitting on their porch on Decker Avenue when multiple shots were fired at them and into their home by suspects in a gray van.
VIDEO: Harrowing body cam footage shows Cleveland police officers under fire while on a call
Four Cleveland police officers responded to investigate, and soon after, chilling body camera video shows shots being fired at the officers from the same gray van. No one was hurt, but the shooters got away.
“It’s insane, to be honest,” said Williams. “These officers weren’t pursuing them, they weren’t trying to track them down at the time. They were just taking down information for a report from a citizen that had been shot at, their homes had been shot up.”
On May 3, investigators say Taylor opened fire on a residence on East 93rd Street. A 10-year-old child was sleeping on his mother’s bed in the upstairs front bedroom and was hit in the face by gunfire. He remains in the hospital.
“These are some bad guys that we had to get off our streets,” Williams said.
Taylor will be arraigned on May 22.
