Jermani Brooks - 5 yo girl / Accused: Geoffrey Gurkovich - Cleveland, OH

'They were in the wrong place at the wrong time': Ohio ex-convict charged with gunning down girl, 5, and shooting her mother in the eye while they sat in a car  

Five-year-old Jermani Brooks was shot once in the head and her mother, Noni Brooks, was injured while they sat in a car Sunday
Two-month-old baby and 8-year-old child were also in the car but escaped unharmed
Police say Geoffrey Gurkovich, 32, pulled up in a green SUV, got out, shot into the mother and daughter and fled
The former inmate reportedly intended to shoot a man who got into a fight with his girlfriend

A former inmate has been charged with aggravated murder in the Cleveland death of a 5-year-old girl who was shot in the head while sitting in a vehicle with her mother and two other kids.

An arraignment was scheduled Wednesday for the suspect, 32-year-old Geoffrey Gurkovich of Cleveland, who was arrested Tuesday.

Police obtained crime-scene surveillance footage of the Sunday night shooting, which also injured the girl's mother.

Authorities identified the slain girl as Jermani Brooks. Her mother, 33-year-old Noni Brooks, was hospitalized in good condition after suffering a gunshot wound to the head.

Police say Gurkovich has served time for escape and domestic violence. Prison records show he was released in 2012 after spending more than three years behind bars on a sentence out of Cleveland.

Authorities say the shooting happened at about 11pm Sunday in the 12800 block of Crossburn Avenue.

Police say Brooks, her 5-year-old daughter and two other children were sitting in a car waiting for the mother's fiance, who went to collect a debt, when Gurkovich pulled up in his green SUV, emerged from the vehicle and opened fire.


Hardened criminal: Former inmate Geoffrey Gurkovich, 32, has been charged with shooting dead a 5-year-old and wounding her mother in Cleveland



Innocent victims: Jemani Brooks, 5 (left), died from a single gunshot wound to the head while sitting in her mother's car; Noni Brooks, 33 (right), reportedly lost an eye in the attack


Crime scene: The shooting happened at about 11pm Sunday in the 12800 block of Crossburn Avenue in Cleveland

Little Jermani was struck once in the head and was later pronounced dead from fatal brain injuries, Cleveland.com reported.

Her mother also suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was rushed to MetroHealth Medical Center. A friend told the station WKYC the 33-year-old had lost an eye in the attack.  

Police assisted by the Secret Service were able to locate the suspect's SUV on Kirton Avenue and the investigation led to the 3,500 block of Riverside Ave, where SWAT officers arrived Tuesday morning.

SWAT officers surrounded the home but Gurkovich was not inside.

Investigators, however, were able to track him down to a home in Newburgh Heights where he was hiding.

In a press conference Tuesday, Police Chief Michael McGrath said that Gurkovich intended to kill a man who got into an argument with his girlfriend, and that the Brooks family were simply ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time.’

Police would not identify Gurkovich's intended victim, only saying that it was not Noni Brooks' fiance, Quentin Fips.

According to Fips' Facebook page, the couple welcomed a baby boy in late October. The infant was in the car with Brooks at the time of the shooting along with an 8-year-old. Both children escaped unharmed.


Happy couple: Police say Brooks, pictured left with her fiance, Quentin Fips, was waiting for him in the SUV when a man walked up to the vehicle and opened fire; the couple's 2-month-old son and another child were unharmed

On his Facebook page, which has since been deleted, Gurkovich posted an image a day before the shooting the read: 'Yes, I could have made some different choices in life but I did what I did, both good and bad and I am not who I was, I have moved on, It’s all part of growing up.’

Gurkovich also posted multiple photos of a blue-green Chevy SUV and a fake ‘wanted’ poster of himself.

The now-defunct social media account indicated that the 32-year-old has children.

In a 2007 police report filed by Gurkovich's ex-wife, the woman claimed that her spouse had threatened to come to her home and harm her.

Earlier that year, the unnamed woman told police that Gurkovich had told her how he wanted to duct tape her and drag her behind his bicycle to the railroad tracks.

‘Then he told me if I told anyone what happened that he would go to my brother’s house and shoot him,’ the report read.


Too young: A makeshift memorial has sprung up in honor of Jermani, who would have turned six Thursday

A vigil will be held for Jermani Thursday, which according to her aunt would have been the girl’s sixth birthday.

Titi Brooks told Cleveland.com her little niece loved the color pink, so she is asking all those who are planning to attend the memorial to bring pink balloons in honor of the slain child.  

http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.html#pbid=b248f00b9d6e4d7ba21cbc796a85f61c&ec=M3cDhhazoQIRjGJYP1OtovokGqvLlalz&docUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-2544235%2FEx-convict-charged-gunning-girl-5-shooting-mother-eye-sat-car.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2544235/Ex-convict-charged-gunning-girl-5-shooting-mother-eye-sat-car.html

Poor little angel.  Taken just days before her sixth birthday.  At least Ohio has and uses the death penalty.  Hopefully he will pay in full measure.  William