Suspect arrested for brutal random attack in downtown Cleveland
Police say 19-year-old Serus Walters is also the suspect in another recent assault.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - UPDATE: The man police believe was behind a brutal random attack in downtown Cleveland last month has been arrested.
A spokesperson for the Cleveland Division of Police said detectives were able to identify the suspect as Serus Andrew Quartaz Walters, 19, of Dayton.
The warrant was issued April 26, two days after 19 Investigates aired a report about the March 29 attack, which occurred outside of the Hilton Hotel on Lakeside Avenue.
CPD said Walters is 6′4″, weighs 180lbs, uses a rubber band as a hair tie, and wears worn out boots that have the tongue draped over the laces.
If anyone sees him, they are asked to call Cleveland Police at 216-621-1234.
In addition to the Good Friday attack, court records show Walters is the suspect in another assault that occurred in Cleveland MetroParks on March 12.
19 Investigates found Walters was also arrested and charged with criminal damaging in Wood County in July 2023, after a woman told police she saw him slash a tire on an SUV.
Previous Report: An attorney suffered serious injuries after being attacked outside the Downtown Hilton on March 29. The attack appears to be random. Surveillance cameras didn’t capture the actual assault, but the suspect can clearly be seen walking the streets after the attack. Cleveland police now hope someone will be able to identify him.
“I went down like this, and I’m covering my face,” said attorney David Dudley as he described the attack.
Dudley, a California-based attorney, had been working on a case in Cleveland when he was assaulted on Good Friday at around 7 pm. At the time, he was walking towards the Downtown Hilton on Lakeside Avenue to grab a drink. That’s when he says a menacing man came out of the hotel and approached him.
“He looked a little intoxicated, to be honest,” said Dudley. “So, I was a little weary of him. And he smiles, he gives me a weird smile as he walks by me. The next thing I know, I get a left hook to my left eye.”
Dudley says he was hit several times, and the attack didn’t stop ― even when he hit the ground.
“Kicked me in my right rib cage,” Dudley said. “He kicked me twice in the right shoulder, then he kicked me five times in the back of the head.”
Dudley says he then managed to get up and run towards the hotel. That’s when his attacker walked away. Dudley was taken to a hospital and treated for his injuries.
“My injuries were a major contusion to my left eye and, a fractured right shoulder,” Dudley said. “Major bruising to the back and side of my head.”
Dudley says the most disturbing part about this incident ― there was no apparent motive.
“He didn’t say a word, not one word during this attack,” said Dudley. “I asked him several times, ‘what are you doing, why are you doing this?’ And no response. Random attack, never seen this guy once in my life.”
19 Investigates obtained surveillance footage from the Cleveland Police Department which shows the suspect minutes after the brutal beatdown.
Video shows the suspect wearing a Zebo Samuel, San Francisco wide-receiver t-shirt. He’s seen stumbling down the streets, walking away from the hotel as he heads down Lakeside Avenue. At one point, he trips and falls face-first onto the sidewalk and later falls into a building. Within minutes, a worker with the Downtown Cleveland Alliance is seen trying to help him out, but the suspect gets up and runs away.
Cleveland police now hope someone will recognize his face, which is clearly shown in the video ― before anyone else gets hurt.
“We ask that they give us a call and we hope to find this individual who obviously assaulted this victim,” said Cleveland Police Sergeant Wilfredo Diaz. “We want to bring justice to the victim, and we hope we can make an arrest soon.”
Dudley describes the suspect as African American, 6′1″, and about 200 lbs. The CPD says he may have been involved in another assault, but the victim in that case did not file a police report. If you do recognize the man in the video, you are urged to call Cleveland Police at 216-621-1234 or Crimestoppers at 216-252-2463.
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