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Slavic Village quadruple homicide suspect indicted on 26 charges; state will seek death penalty

Posted at 4:12 PM, Jul 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-22 17:02:29-04

CLEVELAND — The suspect of the quadruple murder in Slavic Village was formally indicted on 26 counts Monday morning, including 14 counts of aggravated murder. Prosecutors will be seeking the death penalty in this case, officials confirmed.

Armond Johnson Sr., 26, was also indicted on two counts of aggravated burglary, four counts of aggravated arson, kidnapping, two counts of endangering children, two counts of having weapons while under disability and tampering with evidence.

The indictment contains a number of aggravating specifications, any one of which make the case eligible for capital punishment.

“Armond Johnson brutally murdered four people including his own son,” said Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley. “His callous actions demand that he face the ultimate punishment.”

Johnson is being held on a $5 million bond for one charge of aggravated murder. He will be arraigned on the additional charges on July 25.

Johnson pleaded not guilty to his charges during his arraignment earlier this month.

He was also given a $25,000 bond for his open aggravated robbery charge.

Johnson was taken into custody at the scene of the crime on Tuesday, July 9 authorities said. He was held on an unrelated aggravated burglary warrant before being identified as the suspect in the homicides.

Tuesday, police found the body of David Cousin Jr., 35, in an open lot in the 3700 block of East 63rd Street. He had been shot multiple times, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office.

According to police, Cousin is believed to have stumbled across the suspect and became a victim himself.

While searching the area, officers saw two bodies through window of a nearby home. Police made entry and found Aubree Stone, 2, and Armond Johnson Jr., 6, inside. The medical examiner’s office later determined the children died from smoke inhalation.

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