Cuyahoga County

Two East Cleveland Police Officers Sentenced to Prison for Stealing from Motorists

9/14/2023

 

CLEVELAND - Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley announced that East Cleveland Police Officers Alfonzo Cole, 35, and Willie Sims, 32, were sentenced to a combined 4.5 years in prison for stealing from multiple individuals while on duty from July 2020 to July 2021.

“This sentence is a continuation of our efforts to eliminate corruption in the East Cleveland Police Department,” said Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley. “We need to thank the FBI and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department for their work in bringing this case forward.”

On July 7, 2020, the victim, 52, was engaged in a verbal altercation with a female in the parking lot of a gas station located near Euclid Avenue and Shaw Avenue in East Cleveland. East Cleveland Police Officer Willie Sims responded to the scene. Sims saw a gun in the victim’s car and searched the vehicle. He removed $3,850 from the victim’s vehicle.

On September 22, 2020, East Cleveland Police Officer Alfonzo Cole executed a traffic stop on the victim, 43, near Euclid Avenue and Marloes Avenue in East Cleveland. While stopped, Cole removed $850 and approximately $400 worth of suspected marijuana from the car. He then issued a traffic citation to the victim containing his signature and an East Cleveland Police sergeant’s signature.

On November 8, 2020, Willie Sims executed a traffic stop on Paige Avenue in East Cleveland. The individual stopped was driving the 34-year-old victim’s vehicle. While stopped, Sims found and removed $1,300 of the victim’s money from the trunk of the vehicle. 

On June 22, 2021, Alfonzo Cole executed a traffic stop on the victim, 26, on Bender Avenue in East Cleveland. Cole removed from the vehicle $4,000, suspected marijuana, and a firearm.

Also on June 22, 2021, Alfonzo Cole executed a traffic stop on the victim, 18, on Noble Road in East Cleveland. Cole asked the victim if a gun was in the vehicle and then searched the vehicle. Cole removed the victim’s mother’s firearm, located under the seat, and bullets, located in the glove box, from the vehicle.

On July 8, 2021, Willie Sims executed a traffic stop on the same victim from the November 8, 2020, incident at a gas station located near Euclid Avenue and Superior Road in East Cleveland. Sims removed $781 and suspected marijuana edibles from the vehicle.

On July 8, 2021, Willie Sims and Alfonzo Cole executed a traffic stop on the victim, 21, at a gas station located near Euclid Avenue and Superior Road in East Cleveland. Cole and Sims removed $4,000 from the victim’s vehicle. The victim reported the theft to the East Cleveland Police Department (ECPD) and the ECPD contacted the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department (CCSD).

CCSD executed a search warrant at Alfonzo Cole’s residence on July 13, 2021, and recovered the guns from both June 22, 2021, traffic stops, along with suspected marijuana edibles.

The investigation further revealed that Cole forged an East Cleveland Police sergeant’s signature on the traffic citation issued on September 22, 2020, and that the sergeant was not on the scene at the time of the traffic stop. The investigation also revealed that a total of $14,781 was stolen along with two firearms from six total victims.

The investigation was conducted by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Alfonzo Cole pleaded guilty to the following charges:

  • Four counts of Robbery (a felony of the third degree)
  • One count of Theft In Office (a felony of the fifth degree)

Cole additionally pleaded guilty to the following charges on an unrelated case:

  • One count of Having Weapons Under Disability (a felony of the third degree)
  • One count of Carrying Concealed Weapons (a felony of the fourth degree)

Willie Sims pleaded guilty to the following charges:

  • Four counts of Robbery (a felony of the third degree)
  • One count of Theft In Office (a felony of the fifth degree)

 

Cole was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, $4,850 in restitution, and the maximum fine of $40,000. Sims was sentenced to two years in prison, $5,931 in restitution, and the maximum fine of $40,000. Both Sims and Cole are responsible for paying an additional $5,000 in restitution and must permanently surrender their OPOTA licenses.