Cleveland man takes plea deal in Slavic Village murder, brother set to go on trial in August

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - A Cleveland man has changed his plea in connection with the 2021 shooting death of a 20-year-old in the city’s Slavic Village neighborhood.

Court records show David Moore, 25, pleaded guilty to reduced charges last week after reaching a deal with prosecutors.

According to investigators, Moore and his brothers, 23-year-old Terry Trussell Jr. and a 15-year-old male, fatally shot a Garfield Heights man on Hosmer Avenue on March 29, 2021.

Tyronte Peterson died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to medical examiner records.

Following the shooting, a spokesperson with the Cleveland Division of Police said Peterson and another male were walking down the street when they were approached by three males. There was an exchange of gunfire and Peterson was fatally injured.

The three brothers were arrested in the months following the shooting by members of the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.

Moore and Trussell Jr. were indicted in June 2021 on six felony charges with firearms specification, including aggravated murder, two counts of murder, and two counts of felonious assault. Both men entered a not guilty plea at their arraignment.

Their 15-year-old brother, who was 14 at the time of Peterson’s death, was also charged with aggravated murder, murder, and felonious assault, according to records from Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court.

19 News is not identifying the teenager by name because he is currently being prosecuted as a juvenile.

As part of Moore’s plea agreement, his aggravated murder charge was reduced to a involuntary manslaughter with a three-year firearm specification. He also pleaded guilty to reduced charges of felonious assault and discharge of firearm on or near prohibited premises.

The two murder charges and one felonious assault charge were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea.

Court filings state the maximum possible sentence is up to 16 1/2 years on the involuntary manslaughter charge and up to 12 years on the felonious assault charge.

Moore is set to be sentenced by Judge Sherrie Miday on August 8, thirty minutes before Trussell Jr.’s murder trial is scheduled to begin in the same courtroom.

Judge Miday will also sentence Moore in a separate criminal matter on August 10.

In that case, prosecutors say he stole a Jeep Liberty in Cleveland in 2016. He pleaded guilty to grand theft of a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony, last week.

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