Pictured are 18-year-old Tamara McLoyd, who has been indicted on two new robbery charges since a Cuyahoga County grand jury last year indicted her on charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, felonious assault, grand theft, and having weapons under disability relative to the New Year's Eve carjacking and shooting death of 25-year-old Cleveland police officer Shane Bartek CLEVELAND, Ohio - An 18-year old Black Cleveland area woman charged in connection with the New Year's Eve carjacking and shooting death of Cleveland police officer Shane Bartek in the Kamms Corner neighborhood on the city's largely White west side was indicted on Tuesday by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on two more robbery charges, including a Christmas Day robbery in the apartment complex where Bartek lived at the time he was killed.
Tamara McLoyd, of Garfield Heights, who has been in trouble with the law since she was a juvenile, faces two additional charges of aggravated robbery and weapons under disability. She has not been arraigned and her attorney, Kevin Cafferkey, would not comment to reporters
In addition to the two new charges, McLoyd faces several charges relative to the officer's shooting death, including aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, felonious assault, grand theft, and having weapons under disability. She also faces charges regarding two alleged robberies in November, one at a Happy's Pizza restaurant, as well as an additional charge for an alleged arson. She remains in the Cuyahoga County jail on a $5.5 million bond in the murder case and has pleaded not guilty in that case and as to the previous cases.
Though Officer Bartek, 25, was off-duty when he was killed, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb deemed his killing that of an on-duty cop in order that the fallen officer's family could qualify for benefits, including funeral and burial monies. Cleveland Police Patrolmen's President Jeff Follmer had argued that since Bartek struggled with McLoyd before she allegedly gunned him down, that he was, in fact, acting as an on-duty police officer. How this questionable determination by the city that Bartek was on-duty when he was killed will impact the upcoming likely trial and McLoyd's constitutional right to a fair trial remains to be seen.
Hundreds of police officers from across the state, including as far away as Cincinnati, were in attendance to bid farewell to Bartek at funeral services in early January. Bartek's twin sister, Summer Bartek, was among the speakers, and she gave a touching tribute.
“I wish I could tell him one more time how much I admired him,” Summer Bartek said. “How he has always been my idol growing up and always will. I am 13 minutes older than Shane, but he always treated me like a little sister.”
Interim police chief Wayne Drummond, a 32-year law enforcement veteran, has called the tragic shooting death of the police officer "senseless."
Drummond was also among the speakers at the funeral, and he described Bartek as an officer and a gentleman, and a role model for other patrolmen.
“While I did not have the privilege to know Shane personally, I have recently talked with many officers who spoke of him very highly,” Drummond said. “I’ve learned that courage came naturally to Shane. And I’ve heard stories that tell me Shane truly embodied the virtues needed to be an outstanding law enforcement officer.”
Prosecutors say McLoyd was on probation and under the supervision of the Lorain County Juvenile Court for a robbery conviction when she allegedly shot and killed Bartek. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mike O'Malley told reporters that at the time McLoyd had been convicted of robbery as a juvenile in Lorain County Juvenile Court and that should not have been on the streets, though a judge who had released her from custody obviously disagreed with his stance.
Officer Bartek was shot twice in the back in his car, which was parked outside of his apartment complex. He was pronounced dead after being transported by EMS from the scene of the shooting to Fairview Hospital.
Surveillance video purportedly reveals that McLoyd drove off in the officer's car after she allegedly shot him. She ultimately delivered the car to Anthony Butler Jr, 28 and of Bedford Heights, the other suspect in the case is charged with fleeing and receiving stolen property. Police recovered the stolen car following a high speed chase through the city and several other communities.
By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor. Coleman is a seasoned Black Cleveland journalist who trained at the Call and Post Newspaper for 17 years and an experienced investigative and political reporter. She is the most read independent journalist in Ohio per Alexa.com
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