Grand Jury Indicts Two in Northeast Ohio Carjacking That Ended in I480 Crash

Incident date: Saturday, Aug. 22, 7:05 p.m. Solon Police Report # 2026020620 A Cuyahoga County Grand Jury has indicted two Cleveland men accused of robbing a Solon man at gunpoint during a car sale, then leading police on a chase that ended in a crash on Interstate 480. Investigators say Martelle Carlito Reed, 18, and Michael Anthony Corrado, 19, both of Cleveland, arranged to buy a 2015 Chevy Impala through a Facebook Marketplace listing. Instead, police say one of the men pulled a gun on the seller and drove off with the car. Reed and Corrado each face two counts of aggravated robbery, a first degree felony, two counts of robbery, a second degree felony, and one count of receiving stolen property, a fourth degree felony. Reed also faces a third degree felony charge of failure to comply with a signal or order of a police officer since he was behind the wheel during the chase. How the Robbery Unfolded Police say the seller, a 37 year old Solon man, had listed his Impala online and arranged to meet the buyers at Liberty Hills Apartments in Solon. His friend, a 39 year old Cleveland man, came along to help finalize the deal. According to police, the meeting started normally with a test drive and a conversation about the car title. Then one of the suspects pointed a gun at the 39 year old man, grabbed the title and the keys, and left without paying. Neither man selling the car was physically hurt. The Chase Across Three Cities Solon officers spotted the stolen Impala minutes later heading north on SOM Center Road and tried to pull it over near Solon Road. Rather than stop, the driver hit the gas, reaching speeds above 115 mph as the chase moved west on U.S. 422. Officers stayed with the car as it left Solon and continued onto I480 westbound. That is where the Impala slammed into the back of two other vehicles that had nothing to do with the robbery. A 40 year old Brookpark woman riding in one of those vehicles was hurt and taken to a hospital for treatment. Bedford Heights police handled the crash investigation since it happened near the Northfield Road overpass, just outside Solon. From Uncharged to Indicted Reed, who police say was driving, was treated for his injuries and released before being booked into the Solon jail. Corrado, the passenger, needed to be extracted from the wreck by firefighters and was hospitalized in serious condition. Because Corrado remained hospitalized when Solon police first released details of the case, he was only described as an uncharged suspect at the time. He has since recovered and was named in the grand jury indictment alongside Reed. Solon police say no booking photo exists for Corrado because his charges came through a direct indictment rather than a standard jail booking. A Stolen Gun Ties the Case Together Detectives also linked the weapon used in the robbery to an earlier Cleveland theft. The loaded semi automatic pistol found in the Impala had been reported stolen months before the Solon robbery, and that discovery is what led to the receiving stolen property charges against both men. The case now moves forward in Cuyahoga County court.