A gator, the unusual tale of an internet minister, Cleveland’s unsolved murders and a major fentanyl bust: This week in crime and courts

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland police got a cold-blooded surprise when they raided the home of a suspected drug dealer Friday morning. This cuddly alligator is about 3 ½ feet long and is currently residing at the Cleveland City Kennel. This was just one of a number of strange and unusual stories you might have missed this week in Cleveland crime and court news. Read more about Cleveland’s little swamp friend here:

Cleveland police find alligator in East Side home while serving search warrant in drug case

Cleveland police officers found a small alligator while serving a search warrant Friday morning at a home on the city’s East Side.

Cleveland’s homicide solve rate

For the third year in a row, the city of Cleveland saw a decrease in the number of homicides it solved. The department made moves in 2018 to help deal with what Mayor Frank Jackson called an “unacceptable” solve rate. The news comes months after the city diverted detectives from areas of the police department to help plug holes made by retirements and other personnel decisions. Read the full story here:

Cleveland solved half of murder cases last year, leaving 178 cases unsolved since 2016

Cleveland’s homicide solving rate dropped for the third consecutive year.

Cuyahoga County prosecutor passed on charging Euclid cop

Court reporter Cory Shaffer uncovered a previously undisclosed letter from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office that reveals the office declined to pursue felony charges against a Euclid police officer accused of attacking a motorist. Read more about it here:

Cuyahoga County prosecutor chose not to bring felony charge against Euclid officer Michael Amiott in January, previously undisclosed letter reveals

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley determined in January that his office would not be the one to file criminal charges against Euclid Police Officer Michael Amiott over the violent 2017 arrest of a motorist, according to a previously undisclosed letter obtained by cleveland.com.

DeWine wants state to look at jail inspection process

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he ordered a review of the jail inspection process that gave glowing reviews to the Cuyahoga County jails just months before inspectors from the U.S. Marshals Service uncovered “inhumane” conditions. Eight inmates died last year, and the jails are now the focus of an investigation at both the state and federal level. Read more about it here:

Mike DeWine orders examination of state jail inspections after wide discrepancies in Cuyahoga County Jail reports

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said on Wednesday he ordered a review of the state’s local jail inspections after yearly inspections of the beleaguered Cuyahoga County Jail found few issues until a U.S. marshals led team detailed “inhumane” conditions inside the jail.

Feds make big drug bust

Federal investigators released details of a drug indictment that led to charges against 22 people accused of dealing heroin and fentanyl in Cleveland’s eastern suburbs. Read more about it here:

Drug traffickers in Cleveland’s eastern suburbs dealt heroin, fentanyl with shared cellphone, feds say

Twenty-two people were charged in a federal indictment that says members of a large drug trafficking ring sold fentanyl, heroin and other synthetic opioids through a shared cellphone to customers on Cleveland’s East Side and in the eastern suburbs.

Kid gets hassled by cops for loving Odell Beckham Jr.

Sometimes a kid is just excited that his football team MIGHT make it into the playoffs for the first time in forever. A neighbor called police when she saw a young boy running around their Shaker Heights neighborhood celebrating the Browns’ signing of Odell Beckham Jr. Read more about it here:

Woman calls Shaker Heights police on kid who was just excited about the Browns getting Odell Beckham Jr.

Shaker Heights police were called after a boy was heard screaming about the Browns’ major announcement about getting Odell Beckham Jr.

What’s going on at Beachwood Place?

Beachwood police responded to another shooting at the popular Beachwood Place shopping mall last weekend. While they have a man in custody, we decided to speak with city officials and federal drug investigators to find out why the mall parking lot suddenly seems like a place where a lot of problems pop up. Read more about it here:

After four shootings in two years, why has Beachwood Place seen recurring gun violence?

A shooting that injured a man Saturday in the parking lot outside Beachwood Place marked the fourth time in the last two years that someone has been hurt by gunfire on the property.

Judge orders Cleveland to promote police sergeants to lieutenant

A judge ruled that two Cleveland sergeants passed over for promotions should get bumped up to lieutenants. Their complaint said that they got passed over for promotions due to the death of a fellow officer. Read more about it here:

Cleveland police officers win lawsuit against city; department ordered to make them lieutenants

A judge ordered two Cleveland police officers promoted to lieutenant after the veteran officers sued the city saying they were unfairly passed over for promotions.

Meanwhile, back in Euclid…

A police officer of Puerto Rican descent filed a lawsuit against two supervising officers accusing them of mocking him about, among other things, President Trump’s plan to put a border wall across the southern U.S. border. The officer says that the two supervisors also made a lot of crude remarks about Mexicans (despite the fact that he’s of Puerto Rican descent).

Euclid police officer of Puerto Rican descent subjected to racist, anti-Mexican jokes about Trump’s border wall from fellow officers, lawsuit says

Shane Rivera, a Euclid police officer, filed a lawsuit accusing fellow officers of creating a hostile work environment through racist jokes.

The unusual tale of Taj Mahal

An odd story that came to us Friday got even more odd as reporter Adam Ferrise dug into the background of a man wanted by federal authorities. Taj Mahal Frazer is wanted in connection with a federal warrant that accuses him of having sex with a minor. The internet minister’s background includes a history of drug arrests, including a couple where he was charged and let go because he wasn’t the Taj Mahal police were looking for. Read more about him here:

Cleveland-area minister sought in child sexual abuse case left a trail of drugs and sermons

U.S. Marshals and local police are trying to find a self-proclaimed prophet, R.F. Bynoe, who also goes by the name Tajmahal Frazer. Frazer served eight years in a marijuana dealing case.

County might have erred on pay for jail nurses

Research by cleveland.com reporter Courtney Astolfi uncovered the fact that Cuyahoga County relied on a study that only examined entry-level pay for jail nurses when it decided to not increase pay for nurses at the beleaguered jails. This came despite the fact that the county set aside money to do exactly that. Read more about him here: