Answers sought in man’s death

Family, friends of Painesville resident want justice for August 2017 homicide

Nearly a year after a 34-year-old Painesville man was killed in the city, the community is still clamoring for justice.

Elliot A. Spikes was shot in the 130 block of West Jackson Street and died from his injuries on Aug. 27, 2017, according to Painesville police.

This unsolved homicide has left

members of the community saddened and disappointed.

“There’s no closure,” Painesville resident Arlene Becks said at a recent community meeting she organized. “The police are not giving us any information, the coroner is not giving us any information, we’re at a dead end to try to find out who, what, when and why.”

Becks, who is also a former Painesville City Council member, said nobody wants to speak up or speak out about what happened.

She invited Painesville Police Chief Dan Waterman to the July 23 meeting, but he did not attend.

“Someone should have been here from the police department,” she said. “They are paid by our tax dollars, they should be here no matter what. They’re obligated to the public — even if they came and said ‘we can’t say anything’.”

Waterman declined to comment on this case, noting that there is an open investigation.

Antonio Sweeney, who is close to the victim’s family, also expressed dissatisfaction with the police department’s communication.

“Tell us something,” said Sweeney, who is also the pastor of Dew From Heaven Ministries in Cleveland. “It doesn’t make you feel too valued in a city where you can be just gunned down and there’s no uproar, no outrage and no rest.”

Sweeney noted that the victim’s mother recently died.

“She died of a broken heart, because there was no closure and they weren’t giving her any answers,” he said.

Becks said they will continue to meet every fifth Sunday at 5 p.m. at 125 W. Jackson St. For months that only contain four Sundays,

the group will not meet. Meetings are open to the public and the next one is July 29.

“This is a small town, somebody knows something,” Sweeney said. “We’re not giving up.”

Dew From Heaven Ministries is offering a $5,000 cash reward for the arrest, indictment and conviction of the individual responsible for Spikes’ death.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Painesville Police Department at 440-392-5840, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 440-350-5500 or the local FBI office at 440354-9927.

Spikes