Murder case takes twist so police hunt other man

Suspect turns himself in and is released; Police seek another man

Police surround East Cleveland house in search of a different 18-year-old suspect in July 6 Elyria murder.

An East Cleveland man wanted in connection with a murder in Elyria has been released after turning himself in to police.

After the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force offered a reward for information leading to the capture of Saint-Velle Pruitt, 18, who was the Fugitive of the Week, Pruitt surrendered to authorities about 4:50 p.m. with his family, according to Elyria police Capt. Chris Costantino.

Pruitt, 18, who last lived in the 14100 block of Northfield Avenue in East Cleveland, was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service and Elyria Police Department on an aggravated murder charge in the shooting death of Willie Fisher, 47, July 6, the release said.

Elyria police officers responded to a report of shots fired behind a convenience store after 6 p.m. in the 1400 block of East Avenue.

During the investigation, Elyria police identified three suspects and issued aggravated murder warrants for Pruitt, Bruce Arnoff, 56, and John P. Sullivan, 29. Arnoff and Sullivan were arrested, the release said.

During an interview with detectives, Pruitt adamantly denied he was involved in the murder, and told investigators another individual, Patrick M. Gall, 18, of East Cleveland was known to use Pruitt’s name during police encounters.

After reviewing body camera footage of a traffic stop on I-480 by the Brooklyn Heights Police Department, detectives determined the male in the video was not Pruitt, but actually Gall, as confirmed through booking photographs through the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, the release said.

As a result, Pruitt was released and arrest warrants were issued for Gall for aggravated murder.

By 10:30 p.m. July 9, multiple agencies — the U.S. Marshals office and Cleveland S.W.A.T. members — surrounded a house on the 14,100 block of Savannah Ave. in East Cleveland after Gall allegedly refused service of a warrant, said U.S. Marshal Peter Elliot for the Northern District of Ohio.

Online: For updates on the case visit The News-Herald website at WWW.NEWS-HERALD.COM.

Gall