Two former East Cleveland Police officers on trial for bribery were found guilty on Wednesday afternoon.
Demarkco Johnson and Von Harris faced more than a dozen charges connected to claims they took cash from an FBI informant in exchange for fake police reports. Harris and Johnson faced 16 counts, ranging from engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity to conspiracy, bribery, forgery and fraud.
The jury found Harris guilty on 11 of the 16 counts, which included bribery, forgery and insurance fraud charges. Johnson was found guilty of two of the 16 counts, both bribery charges. Both were acquitted of the more serious charges of corruption and conspiracy.
Investigators said the pair accepted hundreds of dollars from an undercover FBI informant in exchange for falsified police reports during the Summer of 2018.
After the verdicts, Johnson's attorney called him a good cop and said she believes he was caught in an FBI scheme to catch police.
"Mr. Johnson maintains his innocence," said attorney Allison Hibbard. "We are grateful for the bulk of the verdict and I do think Mr. Johnson will appeal particularly with regard to the entrapment defense."
That informant was George Michael Riley, who prosecutors said illegally operated a landfill in East Cleveland and collected millions of dollars in demolition jobs as he paid off city employees.
Riley testified on the advice of his attorney, he cut a deal and agreed to work with federal agents as they investigated corruption in East Cleveland.
Riley was not criminally charged in connection with activities in the city.
Something longtime East Cleveland resident and activist Art McKoy called a "slap in the face for justice."
"The big guys got away," said McKoy. "I'm tired of dealing with the little fish and let the big guys get away."
On the witness stand, Harris took the fall and told the jury he was the one who wrote up the falsified reports and signed the names of other officers to them.
But Harris also stressed those reports were never submitted to the police department and were never used by Riley to collect on any insurance policy. Instead, Riley gave the statements to the FBI as part of the operation investigating corruption in East Cleveland.
Harris also said it was Riley, while working with the FBI, who wanted to put cash in the hands of active police officers and told the jury he believed the whole case was entrapment.
He told jurors that Johnson knew nothing about the fake reports or forgeries and that Harris tricked Johnson into taking money from Riley.
Harris and Johnson were placed on house arrest until their sentencing on Jan. 22.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley released the following statement regarding the trial:
“The citizens of East Cleveland deserve to have a police department that serves the public and protects them. We are committed to that goal.”
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Watch more coverage the trial below:
