The Carjacking of an Ohio State Coach: A Cleveland Teen Crew, a Tracked iPad, and a Police Helicopter

On Monday, December 11, 2023, at about 2:02 p.m., Keenan Bailey, 28, Ohio State's tight ends coach, was in the parking lot of Ginn Academy, a public high school on Cleveland's east side, on a recruiting visit nine days before the early signing period. Three males approached. One pointed a gun. "Give me your keys, give me your wallet, give me your phone." They left in his rented Dodge Durango with Florida plates, followed by a stolen white Lexus.

By 4:16 p.m., five people were in custody, a firearm had been recovered, and the Cleveland police helicopter had tracked the Durango across the east side until its occupants bailed on Whitmore Avenue. In between, the same crew tried to take two more cars, one with three children in it.

This file is built from the Prosecutor's Office release, the municipal and common pleas court appearances, and contemporaneous reporting. Every defendant is unconvicted as far as any public record shows, and all are presumed innocent.

Two hours on the east side

• 2:02 p.m., Ginn Academy. Bailey carjacked at gunpoint. No shots fired, no injuries. The suspects leave in the Durango and the Lexus.
• About 2:30 p.m., East 103rd and Elk. Attempted carjacking of a 38-year-old woman with three children in her car.
• About 2:45 p.m., Parkwood and Bryant. Attempted carjacking of a 67-year-old woman.
• About 4 p.m., Lakeview Road. The Durango flees at high speed. The Cleveland Division of Police Aviation Unit tracks it from above until it stops on Whitmore Avenue. Five occupants run.
• 4:16 p.m. All five arrested. A firearm recovered.

Bailey's iPad had been in the Durango, and police did track it, but it was found discarded and cracked some distance away, with his passport and luggage. Our original video description credited the iPad with leading police to the crew. The record credits the helicopter; the iPad led to the luggage. We have corrected the video page.

The November shooting that came with it

When the grand jury indicted the adults, it attached an earlier case. On November 1, 2023, at 7:40 p.m., at St. Clair Avenue and East 152nd Street, prosecutors say Ja'Brian Howard and the 15-year-old fired shots and pistol-whipped a 61-year-old man at an ATM, taking $40. The man, who was with his 6-year-old son, fired back, hitting Howard in the stomach and the 15-year-old in the arm. They fled in a stolen black Toyota Corolla. Both were still carrying those gunshot wounds when they were arrested in December.

The defendants and the charges

• Ja'Brian Howard, 18, of Euclid: more than 20 counts, including four counts of aggravated robbery, four of robbery, four of attempted kidnapping, two of felonious assault, two of failure to comply, discharging a firearm on or near prohibited premises, improperly discharging into a habitation or school zone, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, and receiving stolen property. Held in municipal court on $650,000 across the two cases; bond at common pleas arraignment on December 22 reported at $100,000.
• Anyrie Wallace, 19, of Cleveland: improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property. Bond $2,500 at arraignment.
• Aringwa Harris, 18: the same two counts.
• A 17-year-old and a 15-year-old: charged in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court. Not named.

Prosecutor Michael O'Malley: "This case demonstrates the amount of destruction we are seeing being caused by a small group of individuals." Councilman Mike Polensek: "The car thefts, the carjackings is absolutely outrageous."

No outcome has been publicly reported for any of the five. A reader searching court records should be careful: an Ohio appellate opinion styled State v. Howard from 2025 concerns a different defendant and has nothing to do with this case.

Why this case file matters

Three stolen vehicles, a shooting victim who shot back, a college coach at gunpoint on a high-school lot, and a helicopter: this spree touched almost every theme of Cleveland's 2023 argument about juvenile car theft in a single afternoon. It is also a case where a dramatic arrest, all five in custody within fourteen minutes of the stop, has produced no public resolution nearly three years later. Our video walks the helicopter and bodycam footage from the Ginn Academy lot to Whitmore Avenue. For what an indictment is and is not, see charged versus convicted. We track the case on our court dates tracker.

Sources & records

• Cuyahoga County Prosecutor: man indicted for carjacking, robbery, attempted carjackings (Dec. 19, 2023)
• Cleveland 19: suspects in OSU coach carjacking appear in court (Dec. 13, 2023)
• Cleveland 19: suspects indicted (Dec. 19, 2023)
• Cleveland 19: arraignment (Dec. 22, 2023)
• WKYC: teens indicted in crime spree, iPad detail (Dec. 2023)
• NBC4 Columbus: Ohio State assistant carjacked in Cleveland (Dec. 12, 2023)

Case status as of this writing: Ja'Brian Howard, Anyrie Wallace, and Aringwa Harris were indicted in December 2023 and pleaded not guilty; two juveniles were charged in juvenile court; no dispositions have been publicly reported, and all are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. This article is based on the Prosecutor's Office release, court appearances, and contemporaneous reporting. Featured image: the historic Cuyahoga County Courthouse on Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland, via Wikimedia Commons, credited below the image; the criminal cases are pending at the Justice Center.