EastClevelandcops.jpeg
Cuyahoga County prosecutors moved to vacate 40 cases brought by East Cleveland police Sgt. Torris Moore, left, and officers Eric Jones, top right, and Antonio Malone. All are serving prison time for corruption.
(File photos)
List of defendants with affected cases
* Robert Mongo
* Robert Carter
* Bryant Lewis
* Ernest Alexander
* Ramel Jones
* Aaron Jones
* Leo Collins
* Lavar Younger
* Raymell Calloway
* Ernest Copeland
* Andrew Brown
* Charles Fowler
* James Williams
* Walter Derrico
* Theotis Miller
* Diante McMillian
* William Moore
* Donavon J. Smith
* Dionte Thompson
* Shalonda Steele
* Anthony Woodall
* Ashley Roberts
* Ralph Jones
* Lamark Robinson
* Empress Willis
* Eric Pierson
* Marvin Washington
* Shakira Sanders
* Jay D. Johnson
* Khalid Dervic
* Tawana White
* Devontae Sullivan
* Jason Johnson
* Jeffrey L. Brown
* Deandre Jones
* Richard Hodges
* Demetrius Moore
* Andrew McDonald
* Leonard Vandiver
* Brandon Williams
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office has moved to vacate the convictions of 40 defendants whose cases were investigated by a trio of former East Cleveland police detectives serving federal prison time for corruption.
Prosecutors on Tuesday wrote in motions that all of the cases were presented to them by Sgt. Torris Moore, detective Antonio Malone or detective Eric Jones, who all pleaded guilty to federal crimes related to their jobs as police officers.
"Due to the now known conduct of these former officers in past cases, the County Prosecutor no longer has confidence in the Defendant's conviction," the motions say of each defendant.
The motions were filed in front of Common Pleas Judge John Russo. Russo will hold a hearing Dec. 20 on the cases.
Of the 40 defendants whose convictions prosecutors are seeking to vacate, only one, Jeffrey Brown, 36, is in prison. He has served more than two years for drug trafficking and other charges. Prosecutors are seeking to vacate a conviction for which a judge sentenced him to six months in prison, though he is currently serving a five-year sentence for other convictions that prosecutors are not addressing.
Two others are on post-release control, prosecutor's spokesman Joe Frolik said in an email.
Moore, 43, Malone, 34, and Jones, 39, all pleaded guilty to corruption-related crimes. The officers' scheme often involved filing search warrants with false statements. The trio would go into the homes of suspected drug dealers, seize their money and keep part or all of it.
U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi in Akron handed down sentences ranging from 46 months to nine years -- with the most severe penalty being reserved for Moore, the ringleader of the scheme.
Prosecutors previously moved to vacate convictions against Kenneth Blackshaw, Hosea Lock and John Wallace, who all faced criminal prosecution based on cases involving the East Cleveland officers.
Blackshaw was released from prison in February. The other two had already served out their sentences.
Terry Gilbert, Brown's attorney, previously said he turned surveillance footage to county prosecutors that showed the East Cleveland officers taking money from a cash register at Brown's business on East 131st Street.
Gilbert said Tuesday that he still has to work out some issues with prosecutors. Brown pleaded guilty to three separate but related cases at the same time in 2014, but Tuesday's motion only addresses one of the cases, Gilbert said.
"It seems to me that the plea to the whole case or cases has to be looked at as being tainted by the East Cleveland police," Gilbert said.
All of the cases were reviewed by the Prosecutor's Office's Conviction Integrity Unit.
Robert Tobik, the chief county public defender, said his office is representing the majority of the 40 defendants. He said attorneys have reached out to some of the defendants and are searching for others.
"The idea is this is an injustice and we're trying to rectify that," Tobik said.
If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.