A Cuyahoga County man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in downtown Columbus was arrested Aug. 7 by the U.S. Marshals Service in Cleveland.
LezLeon Evans, 20, of Garfield Heights, faces a murder charge in the fatal shooting of Lamar Ross, 25, of Whitehall, according to court records. The shooting happened Nov. 21, 2025, on North High Street near the Ohio Statehouse.
A second suspect, Tyrek Simpson, 25, of Franklinton, was arrested in December and has been indicted on murder and other criminal charges, court filings show.
On July 7, Strongsville police came across a male and female near a Sheetz gas station and Best Western Hotel on State Route 82, according to a U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force media release. When police encountered the male, later identified as Evans, they allege he lied about his identity, the U.S. Marshals said.
After learning Evans’ identity and that he was wanted on suspicion of murder, officers tried to arrest him, but he fled into some nearby woods, the U.S. Marshals said. More officers, including the task force, responded to the scene but lost track of him that day.
After conducting interviews and following tips, investigators learned that Evans was at a home in the 12200 block of Mortimer Avenue in Cleveland, where they arrested him without incident on Aug. 7, the U.S. Marshals said. Evans remains at the Cuyahoga County jail until he is extradited to Columbus to face charges.
Both Evans and Simpson have been charged in Ross’ death. A Columbus police SWAT team arrested Simpson on Dec. 4. A Franklin County grand jury indicted him on murder, aggravated murder, felonious assault and having a weapon as a convicted felon.
In a criminal complaint, city homicide detectives allege that surveillance video from around 3 a.m. Nov. 21 shows both Evans and Simpson in a gray Honda SUV parked on North High Street. Evans got out of the driver’s side of the SUV and stood at East Lynn and North High streets. Simpson then got out of the passenger’s side of the SUV and called out to Ross and encouraged him to walk toward them, according to the complaint.
Evans then pulled out a handgun and shot Ross four times before fleeing the scene with Simpson, according to the complaint. Evans dropped his handgun at the scene, and detectives later recovered it. Using both phone records and DNA swabs, detectives identified Simpson and Evans as suspects.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, @ShahidMeighan on X and shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Cleveland-area man arrested in fatal Columbus shooting near Ohio Statehouse
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
