Demarlo Harris, a 30-year-old Black man, was shot and killed on December 12, 2019, in the Villages at Roll Hill apartment complex in Cincinnati, OH. Harris was found bleeding on the lawn between two apartment units and was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident occurred around 9 a.m., and police initially did not have any suspects in custody.
Harris was also a suspect in a $1 million bank fraud case involving Fifth Third Bank.
He was arrested in August 2019 along with four others for allegedly depositing bad checks into various Fifth Third accounts and then withdrawing the funds before the checks cleared. The last arrest in connection to the theft was made on September 12, 2019.
On December 19, 2019, Cincinnati police, with the help of the Dekalb County Sheriff's Office in Georgia, arrested Robert Chapman, 28, for the murder of Harris. Chapman was charged with aggravated murder, murder, and felonious assault. He allegedly shot and killed Harris in a drive-by shooting on President Drive. Chapman was later returned to Hamilton County to face the charges.
The investigation into Harris's death and the related bank fraud case highlighted the challenges faced by the Cincinnati Police Department in addressing both violent crime and financial crimes in the community. The community and Harris's family were deeply affected by the tragic loss, and the case drew attention to the broader issues of gun violence and financial crime in the area.
