Neighborhood assists in apprehension of out-of-state suspects
On January 6, the quiet streets at the northeast corner of the neighborhood were disrupted when a drug bust just over the city line in Euclid turned into a chase. A multi-agency task force involving officers from the Cleveland Police Narcotics Unit, Euclid Police, FBI and State Highway Patrol intervened in a delivery to a home on Naumann Avenue of at least two kilos of cocaine.
Four suspects fled, one on foot and three in a car. The suspect on foot, a juvenile, was immediately arrested by Euclid PD. The other three suspects, John Campbell, 28, of Lexington, Ky., Chase Downey, 24, also of Lexington, and Francisco Rodriguez, 19, of Midway, Ky., evaded police and sped away in a car towards E. 185th Street.
At that point, task force officers called for backup from Cleveland's 5th Police District. The suspects crossed E. 185th to Canterbury Road and made a left, heading west on Lakeshore to Crestland, where they headed north, apparently unaware that the street ends at the lakefront and Coronado Beach Club. At this point, the suspects abandoned their car and fled.
The pursuit took in every block north of Lakeshore from Wildwood State Park to the hospice property, with teams of officers moving up the streets. One suspect, Downey, made it to Maplecliff before being apprehended by police. Suspect Campbell, clad in a bright red sweatshirt, was found hiding in a trashbin in a backyard on East Park Drive. Rodriguez was arrested as well, thanks to a tremendous show of force by CPD and task force members.
At recent community meetings, 5th District police commander Wayne Drummond commended the many residents, including children out playing in their yards, who cooperated fully with officers’ requests to go inside and stay out of the way.
Drummond said that, although the scene was chaotic, from the time the initial calls for assistance went over the radio around 3:25 p.m. to the time all suspects were in custody was less than 45 minutes. What did take time, and resulted in street closures and police presence for many hours, was the investigation, which required search teams to revisit the area and clear it of any evidence such as weapons, drugs and cash. “We believed we had everyone in custody fairly quickly, but we wanted to have everyone together, officers and suspects, just to get organized before we completely stopped searching.”
He said that the residents played a positive role in resolving the incident. ”The partnership with the community played a critical role in locating these suspects and us bringing them in without incident.” He also noted that several off-duty officers who live on the lakefront streets dressed and joined the search effort.
Drummond regularly attends community meetings to answer questions and respond to concerns. He asks residents to be vigilant and get involved with their neighbors.
Euclid mayor Bill Cervenik made a similar point: “This is our neighborhood, 185th isn’t a line that changes the way people behave. These incidents can happen everywhere, but what’s important is that we work together to help keep the 185th Street area strong, both Cleveland and Euclid. Safe and strong.“
Campbell, Downey and Rodriguez face almost a dozen charges each, including aggravated robbery, grand theft, attempted murder, felonious assault, drug possession and trafficking offenses, improper use of firearms, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and failure to comply with police orders. Campbell and Downey are being held at the Justice Center on $1 million bond. Rodriguez, reportedly a Mexican national, is being held on a $2 million bond.