In landmark case against three New Era activists, it's revealed that gas station owners could have fired the shot.
At table - prosecution legal team discussing Defense Exhibit G. Standing - Defense attorney Peter Pattakos preparing evidence and Detective Anne Reynolds watching footage. | July 16, 2025 | Photos by the People's Press
CLEVELAND — In a critical development in the trial of Antoine Tolbert, also known as Chairman Faheim, testimony Wednesday revealed significant oversights by Cleveland police that the defense says may point to an alternate suspect in a gunfire incident at a Lee-Harvard gas station last summer.
Patrol Officer Whitney Detchon of Cleveland’s 4th District, badge #614, responded to the August 9, 2024, 911 call reporting a possible assault and a large, possibly armed crowd at the Race Fuel gas station on 4060 Lee Rd. According to Detchon, a man identified as Rubin Swift – Key state witness and alleged police informant claimed he was assaulted by Tolbert. Shortly after, a gunshot was fired across the parking lot, prompting panic and dispersal.
A man identified as SOB, believed to be co-defendant Rameer Askew, dropped to his knees with his hands up and surrendered a rifle without incident. The weapon was secured by Officer Anne Reynolds, badge #1236—now Detective Reynolds—who also testified in court Wednesday.
Despite Askew being armed, both officers testified there was no probable cause to believe he fired the weapon. His rifle was returned after being cleared.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Peter Pattakos presented bodycam footage marked as Defense Exhibit G, showing Reynolds inside the gas station reviewing surveillance video immediately after the incident. That footage, shown to the jury, appears to depict gas station owners and employees—including Ibrahim Shehada and Dahoud Hamidah—walking out of view of the cameras toward the precise area where the gunshot was fired.
Pattakos pointed to a moment in the footage where Shehada appears to strap a firearm over his shoulder before disappearing off camera—seconds before the shot. “This bodycam footage shows her reviewing the gas station's surveillance footage, and pictures the surveillance system's recording on screen, which shows Ibrahim Shehada, Dahoud Hamideh, and the other gas station owners/affiliates walking off camera to the precise area that Jamir Hale identified as being where the gunshot went off, precisely when the gunshot goes off.” Pattakos said.
Detective Reynolds admitted under oath that she did not notice that detail at the time. She further testified that had she noticed Shehada arming himself and walking away, she would have likely detained him and seized the firearm for further investigation.
“Yes,” Reynolds said when asked if reviewing the footage now raised concern. “There may have been part of the investigation overlooked on my part.”
The footage also appears to show several brief flashes—described by Pattakos as possible muzzle flashes—coinciding with the moment the shot was fired.
[Evidence video pending]
Reynolds conceded that these visual cues were missed during her initial review and that no officer on scene inspected the firearms held by any of the gas station staff.
She further admitted that a gunshot residue (GSR) test was never conducted on any of the gas station affiliates, including Shehada. Surveillance footage also captured the gas station owners rushing back inside moments after the shot.
Reynolds admitted that had she connected the footage with what witnesses were reporting at the scene, the entire direction of the investigation could have shifted. She confirmed that the possibility of the gas station owners being armed was not sufficiently explored at the time.
Defense attorneys argue this oversight not only undermines the prosecution’s narrative, but also constitutes substantial evidence that the gas station owners were attempting to frame Tolbert and the New Era group for having fired the shot, and raises questions about whether police intentionally overlooked this evidence in order to pin charges on Tolbert.
Court proceedings in The State of Ohio v. Antoine Tolbert will continue Thursday at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center, where the defense is expected to further challenge the integrity of the police investigation.
