$5M bond set for suspect accused of killing police officer
CLEVELAND — A suspect accused of fatally shooting a Cleveland police officer on July 4 made his first court appearance Friday, where Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Andrea Moore set his bond at $5 million.
De’Lawnte Hardy, 24, of Cleveland is facing charges of aggravated murder in the killing of Jamieson Ritter, 27, a four-year veteran of the force. Hardy appeared for the bond hearing via a video feed from the Cuyahoga County Jail and did not speak.
At about 4 a.m. Thursday, Ritter was part of a team serving a felony arrest warrant in the city’s Hough neighborhood. The warrant was issued by the Garfield Heights Police Department following an incident on June 29.
On that day, Hardy stole his grandmother’s gun and shot her in the face, Cleveland prosecutor Jose Torres said during Friday’s hearing. She is brain dead and on life support at MetroHealth Medical Center, Torres said.
As officers attempted to serve the warrant on Thursday, Hardy tried to flee on a bicycle, then pulled a gun and opened fire as officers gave chase, Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd said Thursday.
He fired five shots, and one bullet struck Ritter, Torres said. The officer was rushed to University Hospitals, where he was pronounced dead.
“The uptick in gun violence involving young people, quite frankly, is alarming, exhausting and dismaying,” Moore said as she issued her bond ruling. “The harm to the families, community and society at large is immeasurable.”
Hardy’s case is expected to be transferred in the coming days to the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Ritter grew up near Rochester, New York. After graduating from Syracuse University he was commissioned in the U.S. Army National
Guard. After he joined Cleveland’s police division he deployed to Syria.
Last week, the Cleveland Police Foundation named Ritter and his partner, Brittany Vajusi, Officers of the Month after they gave emergency aid to two gunshot victims and rescued a man who’d jumped into the Cuyahoga River earlier this year.
Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to Garfield Heights police for more information on charges that Hardy shot his grandmother.
A public defender representing Hardy at Friday’s hearing said Hardy owns his own moving-and-repair business.