Two men have been indicted in the long-unsolved 2011 murder of 21-year-old Brandon Cartellone, a college student from Cleveland whose death shocked the Tremont neighborhood and left a community seeking answers for more than a decade.
On Wednesday, a Cuyahoga County grand jury formally charged Do’Juan Nettles, 39, of Florida, and Dionte Davis, 36, of Michigan, in connection with the violent crime. Both men face multiple felony counts, including:
- Aggravated murder
- Murder
- Aggravated burglary
- Aggravated robbery
- Kidnapping
- Felonious assault
According to a criminal complaint filed by Cleveland police, the suspects entered Cartellone’s apartment on Professor Avenue in the Tremont neighborhood on July 27, 2011. Police allege the two men intended to purchase marijuana but instead chose to rob Cartellone. During the home invasion, they bound and gagged the young man using belts and duct tape. A physical struggle reportedly followed, during which Cartellone was fatally asphyxiated.
His girlfriend discovered his body later that day, sparking an intensive investigation that remained open for more than a decade. Detectives from the Cleveland Division of Police, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) continued to work the case over the years.
According to prosecutors, advanced DNA testing ultimately linked both Nettles and Davis to the crime scene. Nettles was taken into custody in Florida on July 9. Davis was arrested two days later in California. Both men are expected to appear in court for arraignment in the coming weeks.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley praised the persistent work of investigators:
“This indictment is the result of 14 years of tireless investigative efforts by law enforcement to hold Brandon’s killers accountable. Their persistence proves that no matter how much time passes, we will never stop seeking justice for victims and their families.”
At the time of his death, Cartellone was a student at the Cleveland Institute of Art, remembered by friends and family as a talented, kind-hearted young man with a promising future.
The arrests mark a significant breakthrough in one of Cleveland’s most haunting unsolved homicides and offer a long-awaited sense of progress to those who have mourned Cartellone’s loss for nearly 14 years.