On March 16, 2019, 29-year-old African American male Julius Moore was fatally shot inside a residence on the 14400 block of Brunswick Avenue in Maple Heights, Ohio. Another victim, 35-year-old Willie G. Ivy II, also lost his life in the same incident. A third man, aged 31, sustained life-threatening injuries but survived the attack.
Julius Moore had relocated from Chicago to Cleveland to start anew and was described as a loving and dedicated father to his two young children, Oubrey and Omari, who were just 1 and 2 years old at the time of his death.
In the days following the shooting, Maple Heights police identified 19-year-old Jalen Smith as the primary suspect. Smith, also known by aliases Jalen L. Smith, Jalen Lathan Smith, and Lathan Smith, was charged with two counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted aggravated murder. Authorities considered him armed and extremely dangerous, noting his connections to both the Cleveland and Chicago areas.
On June 24, 2019, Smith was apprehended in western Pennsylvania during an unrelated drug enforcement operation conducted by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Task Force. He was subsequently extradited to Cleveland to face charges related to the Maple Heights double homicide.
The tragic loss of Julius Moore, a 29-year-old African American man, deeply affected his family and community. In his memory, his partner Marcia established a nonprofit organization called "Guns Down Hopes Up," aiming to provide resources and support to children who have lost parents to gun violence.
