Arrest Made In Domestic Murder On Elmwood

Sunday morning around 9:30 am a call went into Lakewood Police that a woman had heard 5 shots, and then saw a man in a mask run east-bound on Madison. Around the same time a man bicycling by called police reporting that he had seen a man in a mask running down Madison get- ting into a dark blue Chevy Cobalt and taking off eastbound on Madison.

It was about that time the the first police were arriving at the scene. Entering the apartment building the police located a middle aged male (44) who had been shot in the head and was deceased. Meanwhile police had started looking for the alleged shooter, believed to be a family of the murdered man’s girlfriend. Within 10 minutes they had pulled over a gray car on Elmwood and Hillard being driven by a 19-year-old who was believed to be in the apartment at the time. The police detained him and then released him later that day.

On May 4, Wilmarie A. Ford of West 90th Street in Cleveland, 22 years old, was taken into custody and charged with Aggravated Murder. She does not currently have a bond, and her arraignment in Lakewood Municipal Court has not yet been scheduled.

Police also have an arrest warrant for Bruce E. Ford, 23 years old, also of West 90th Street in Cleveland. He has also been charged with Aggravated Murder. He is not currently in police custody. Both suspects’ exact roles in the murder remain under investigation, although it appears that both suspects knew the victim.

To my fellow residents in Lakewood, we must keep our wits about us during this unfortunate spate of violence and trouble in this city.

Everyone needs to take a step back, take a breath and use critical thought starting with the simple fact that crime is down all over the country, including in Lakewood.

While the past couple months have been tough to digest, it is hard to see how Lakewood could have been proactive in any of it.

It is great that people want to be proactive and com- munity is what this town has always been about. As a com- munity, we need to keep our heads and not give in to fear or inner demons and focus on the facts:

The best way to make a city safe is to live in it. Walk the streets, sit on the porches, play and meet in the parks. Busy streets are healthy, safe streets.