Jose Ervin Jr., a 32-year-old Black man described by his family as their glue, was a father known for his high-spirited personality and love for his family and friends. In 2023, he and his wife, Scierra, gained happy media attention when their twins were born on August 18, the same birthday the couple shared. At the time of his death, they were expecting their third child, a baby he would never get to meet.
His family later dedicated a billboard in his honor, wanting everyone to know the man who was full of life and always made people smile.
In the early morning of October 4, 2024, Ervin and a friend left a neighborhood bar in Garfield Heights, Ohio, and stopped at the Turney Pit Stop gas station to order food. Around 2:45 a.m., an argument broke out between Ervin and another man, Waunyae Arrington. After Ervin and his friend got their order and returned to their car, the two men began to fight. Two women who were with Arrington intervened.
Surveillance footage showed Ervin backing away as Arrington pulled a handgun from a bag and chased him across Turney Road. Ervin tripped and fell on a curb in front of a nearby Dunkin' Donuts, where Arrington shot him several times. According to his mother, her son was begging for his life. First responders transported Ervin to Marymount Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from his gunshot wounds. Arrington and the two women fled the scene in a car.
On October 15, 2024, authorities arrested 29-year-old Waunyae Arrington in Columbus. A Cuyahoga County Grand Jury later indicted him on charges that included aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, and having weapons while under disability.
In May 2026, Waunyae Arrington pleaded guilty to the fatal shooting of Jose Ervin Jr. A Cuyahoga County judge sentenced him to serve at least 28 years in prison.
