09-05-2025
2 sentenced in ‘gun battle' outside St. Malachi Parish
CLEVELAND (WJW) — Two men were sentenced in connection to an attempted robbery and shooting that took place outside of Cleveland's St. Malachi Parish last summer.
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Rahmean Ponzie, 37, and Randall Russell, 30, had pleaded guilty to the following charges last month:
1 count of discharging firearms in a prohibited place
1 count felonious assault
1 count criminal damaging
Thursday, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Emily Hagan sentenced the two to five-six years in prison.
Another man involved in the shooting, 31-year-old Richo Samuels Jr., is reportedly undergoing a competency evaluation and is expected for a pretrial in June. Charges were dropped against Jermaine George, 53, who was indicted with the other three men in August in connection to the incident.
According to prosecutors last year, Ponzie and Russell were in the area of St. Malachi Parish when they spotted people who had previously tried to rob them. They opened fire and three people ended up hurt. Police said no bystanders were shot.
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'These idiots engaged in a gun battle outside of St. Malachi Parish, firing over 45 shots,' Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley said in a press release last year.
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