CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Cleveland Heights Police confirm to News 5 that an arrest warrant was issued Thursday afternoon for 20-year-old Joseph Byron Littlejohn of East Cleveland in connection to the death of 22-year-old Alexander Gurley.
Cleveland Heights Police Chief Chris Britton said officers and detectives have been working the case aggressively.
"I've been, you know, a longtime member of the police department," Britton said. "We all take things like this very personal. We do all we can to help out."
On Jan. 4, police responded to a call about gunshots in the 3300 block of East Overlook Road. Upon arrival, they found Gurley dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds.
Police said Littlejohn, who's charged with aggravated murder, is still at large and should be considered armed and dangerous. He is also a suspect in the aggravated robbery of a woman down the street hours before Gurley was killed.
As for a motive in Gurley's death, Britton said robbery is being looked into.
"Mr. Gurley operated a legitimate business in which he would sell items through the platform, social media platform if you will, according to the family," Britton said. "We believe that could have played a role in his death."
Court records in Cuyahoga County show two open court cases for Littlejohn for charges including aggravated robbery, theft, and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.
"Obviously people know who Littlejohn is, and I'm reaching out to Littlejohn and asking him to do the right thing and turn himself in," Britton said. "And if you do know where he is do the right thing and turn him in."
Police believe other individuals were involved in the crime.
The city and police department are offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of Littlejohn and/or the identification of others involved in the crime.
Those with information are encouraged to contact detectives at the Cleveland Heights Police Department at 216-291-3883.
A close relative of Gurley said he was the light of their family and did a lot of good in the community. They said Gurley was an entrepreneur with a clothing line named Lashaun Alexander. The relative said Gurley did tremendous good in the community, including helping people experiencing homelessness and others who needed a lift in life.
The relative said Gurley was an organ donor and continues to help others even after his passing.
While the family processes all that's taken place since Gurley's murder, they were dealt another blow when they learned a Lifebanc triage coordinator released a sensitive "case form" on social media.
Lifebanc released the following statement to News 5:
Upon notification of this event, Lifebanc immediately took appropriate action, the employee is no longer with our organization. We take confidentiality seriously and provide continuous training in this area. Lifebanc fully cooperated with the Cleveland Heights police department and will do whatever we can to support them in this ongoing investigation. We send our deepest condolences to the family for their loss.
Cleveland Heights Police said they looked into the data release but found nothing that supports a criminal investigation.
Sharona Hoffman, a professor of law and bioethics at Case Western Reserve University, said organ procurement organizations do not fall under HIPAA regulations.
"Transplant centers where surgeries are actually done — they do fall under HIPAA," Hoffman said.
She said most organizations offer extensive training and have policies and procedures "to reassure clients and customers that their privacy will be safeguarded."
Hoffman said those are often written in employee handbooks or other documents.
"So certainly workers have to follow their own organizations policy regarding privacy," she said. "Ethics are extremely important. We hope that all professionals have a sense of integrity, have an instinct as to what is right and wrong and certainly releasing private information that is identifiable and relates to patients should be a no-brainer. It should be clear to someone that, that is not the correct thing to do."
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