Sheffield Lake man facing 9 felony charges for drive-by shootings in Vermilion

A Sheffield Lake man is facing nine total felony charges in Lorain County Common Pleas Court after he and a teen accomplice allegedly fired a rifle and a shotgun at several houses in Vermilion in July. Jacob Bray, 18, of Abbe Road, was indicted Thursday by a grand jury on one count of felonious assault, one count of improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation or school safety zone, three counts of discharging a firearm on or near a prohibited premises, one count of tampering with evidence, two counts of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle and one count of improperly furnishing firearms to a minor. All but one of the charges carry firearm specifications and some carry forfeiture specifications, which could let authorities to seize the guns as contraband if Bray is convicted. Bray could face additional, mandatory prison time with no possibility of early release if convicted of using a gun and doing so in a drive-by shooting. The case has not been assigned to a judge. Bray's attorney, Kenneth Lieux, had no comment on the indictment Thursday. According to the charges, Bray attempted to cause serious physical harm to a victim during a series of shootings July 23. Vermilion police said there were four separate shootings involving a 20-gauge shotgun and a rifle reported in the city between 3:23 and 5:23 a.m. July 23. Police said multiple 911 callers reported gunshots in the area of Brownhelm Station Road and Highbridge Road, then less than a minute later in the area of Brownhelm Station and Vermilion roads. One home in the 3400 block of Brownhelm Station Road was shot several times, but the sleeping homeowner was not injured. She reported being awakened just after 4 a.m. by gunfire and a flash of light as a bullet entered her bedroom wall. The woman got on the floor and crawled to another room to call police. Five shots made contact, with one hitting a tree on the property, two hitting the woman's roof and two going into the walls of her home, Vermilion police said. Investigators were collecting evidence at that scene when another shooting was reported on Sunnyside Road, half a mile to the east. The shootings all appeared random, according to Vermilion police. Besides video surveillance footage from private homes and Flock license plate reader cameras, Vermilion police said Bray and the 16-year-old boy made it easier to figure out who they were by bragging about what they'd done, Detective Sgt. Scott Holmes said previously. The Lorain County Sheriff's Office SWAT team, Sheffield Lake and Lorain police helped serve search warrants in Lorain and Sheffield Lake and seized two guns. Those included an Anderson AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and an Akkar 620 shotgun, both recovered from a home in Sheffield Lake, according to Vermilion police. The weapons could be ordered forfeited to Vermilion police if Bray is convicted. Bray allegedly tried to tamper with the guns in some way, and let his underage accomplice handle them, according to his indictment. The teen accomplice was charged in Lorain County Juvenile Court with delinquency by discharging a firearm into a habitation, delinquency by discharge of a firearm at or near a prohibited premises and two counts of delinquency by improper transportation of a firearm in a motor vehicle, all felony-level charges. Vermilion police said 16-year-old is from Richland County. It is up to the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office to ask the county Juvenile Court to charge the teen as an adult. If the request is granted, the charges could be sent up to Common Pleas Court. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com