Executive Summary
- Joseph Harris Jr., 20, was arrested by U.S. Marshals on charges of aggravated murder.
- The suspect is accused of killing 19-year-old Crystal Pittman and wounding a 15-year-old girl on Feb. 1.
- Authorities recovered a handgun that the suspect allegedly attempted to flush down a toilet during the arrest.
CLEVELAND — Agents with the U.S. Marshals Service arrested a 20-year-old man on Monday in connection with a shooting that left one woman dead and a teenager injured earlier this month.
According to the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, officers apprehended Joseph Harris Jr. at an apartment complex located in the 4300 block of Northfield Road. Harris is facing an aggravated murder charge filed by the Cleveland Division of Police regarding the homicide.
The charges stem from a February 1 incident at a residence near the 7000 block of Gertrude Avenue in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood. Police reports state that Crystal Pittman, 19, was discovered unresponsive in a living room with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Emergency medical personnel pronounced her dead at the scene.
A second victim, identified as a 15-year-old girl, sustained a gunshot wound to the back during the altercation, authorities confirmed.
During the arrest operation on Monday, officers alleged that Harris attempted to dispose of a handgun by flushing it down a toilet. The task force subsequently executed a search warrant and successfully recovered the firearm. “Today was another safe arrest of a violent fugitive with a firearm for our task force,” U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said in a statement regarding the operation.
Investigative Outlook
The apprehension of Harris marks a significant step in the investigation, shifting the focus to the judicial phase and the forensic examination of the recovered weapon. The seizure of the firearm allegedly attempted to be discarded could prove pivotal in ballistics testing to confirm its link to the Slavic Village shooting. As the case proceeds, prosecutors will likely evaluate the evidence to determine if additional charges related to the juvenile victim or the attempted destruction of evidence are warranted. It is important to note that all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
