Five found dead in vacant properties, Cleveland Council members vow to step up demolitions

CLEVELAND - Cleveland Councilman Tony Brancatelli looked upon a vacant garage in his ward with sadness in his eyes. The garage door has been marked up with graffiti and a pile of stuffed animals sit in the driveway.

It's the very same garage where an Amber Alert ended tragically for a 19-year-old Cleveland mother and her 1-year-old daughter over the weekend.

Police reported Latasha Jackson, 19, her daughter, 1-year-old Chaniya Wynn, and Thomas Lorde, 35, were all found dead in the garage on Union Avenue at 2:52 a.m. Sunday. Cleveland police said Lorde, who once dated Jackson, shot the 19-year-old and then killed her daughter, before shooting himself in the head.

"We have to stay vigilant in taking down vacant properties that are beyond repair," said Brancatelli. "It's so sad what happened here at this garage. The door was locked, but somehow they still got in."

It was the same story just five minutes away in the ward of Cleveland Councilman Zach Reed. Police continue looking for the suspect(s) connected to a double murder Sunday afternoon. The bodies of Cedric Tate, 20, and Trevon Brown, 19, were found murdered in an abandoned house in the 12600 block of Dove Ave.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner said both Tate and Brown died from gunshot wounds. Tate's body was found on the kitchen floor; Brown's body was discovered in the basement.

"I plan to talk with the Cleveland Department of Building and Housing to see if there is any way vacant homes like this can be taken down more quickly," said Reed. "Residents need to stay active and report any changes in the status of vacant homes in their neighborhood as soon as possible."

Residents need to contact the police, or their city building and housing department, if they determine that a vacant home has been broken into or vandalized.

On Tuesday, city officials will hold a news conference on the weekend's deadly events at Cleveland Police Headquarters.

5 On Your Side invites residents to report vacant/condemned homes in their neighborhood, through the NewsChannel5 Building Better Neighborhoods initiative. 

Residents are encouraged to send in pictures and information on distressed properties to our Troubleshooter Facebook or Twitter accounts @joeonyourside. Report a home using your smartphone and our free NewsChannel5 newsnet5.com app.

If you're dealing with a vacant home in your neighborhood, use the Cleveland Housing Court Vacant Home Toolkit, it will guide you through the process of moving a vacant home to progress step-by-step.

NewsChannel5 will bring you a series of reports and updates on the progress made through the Building Better Neighborhoods initiative throughout 2012.