South Euclid man identified as victim in Walton Hills’ first homicide since 1972
[Watch previous FOX 8 News coverage in the player above.]
WALTON HILLS, Ohio (WJW) — Authorities have identified the man found dead outside a Sagamore Road home on Monday, who had been shot multiple times in the head.
It’s the village’s first homicide in more than 50 years, according to police.
Police responded just after 9 a.m. on Monday, March 25, to a home in the 17300 block of Sagamore Road, where they found 26-year-old Shemsi Baraka, of South Euclid, dead in the front yard, about 40 yards from the road.
Flames engulf historic Cleveland church
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide, caused by multiple gunshot wounds to the head.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting with the case.
NE Ohio man, alleged ‘drug mule’ for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, arrested
The last homicide reported in Walton Hills was in 1972, Walton Hills Police Chief Dave Kwiatkowski told FOX 8 News.
The victim was Edwin Chapek, who was gunned down during an armed robbery by masked men at his home along Alexander Road, according to a historical account written in 2005.
Three of the four suspects were eventually caught, tried and sentenced. But the fourth eluded authorities for more than two decades. The FBI described him as an “organized crime figure” who underwent plastic surgery to change his appearance.
He was caught in 1993 at a trailer park in Tucson, Arizona, after the case was featured on the TV show “America’s Most Wanted.”
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
