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Cleveland safety committee chairman wants outside authority to oversee murder investigation with link to Mayor Frank Jackson’s house

Matt Zone said answers are also needed about city prosecutor’s decision to not pursue charges against mayor’s grandson in separate assault case

CLEVELAND — Councilman Matt Zone said an investigation into a West Side murder last week that led detectives to Mayor Frank Jackson’s house should be overseen by an independent authority.

Zone said transparency is needed.

“It would be my suggestion to avoid any appearance of impropriety that this should be turned over to outside investigative agency other than the police department to follow up and see what ultimately happened,” he told Channel 3 on Friday.

Last Wednesday, 30-year-old Antonio Parra of Warrensville Heights was gunned down on the city’s West Side. Later that night, police investigating the homicide towed a truck from the mayor’s house and detained a juvenile for questioning. The mayor’s 22-year-old grandson, Frank Q. Jackson, lives at the house but his attorney later said he is not involved in the case.

RELATED: Attorney for Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's grandson denies he had any involvement in homicide that led police to his home

The mayor has refused to answer questions about the murder investigation or his grandson, who was indicted this week by a Cuyahoga County grand jury for beating an 18-year-old woman in June.

The city’s prosecutor, which first reviewed the case, declined to pursue charges against his the grandson. Reports from the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority police, which investigated the matter, show the city prosecutor declined to charge Frank Q. Jackson because the witness did not want to pursue a criminal case. It’s unclear why the city prosecutor did not refer the case to the county prosecutor. 

RELATED: Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson negotiated grandson's surrender with U.S. Marshals

“I don’t know the reasons why the city prosecutor did not move forward with filing charges – there is some concern,” Zone said. “That’s the unknown question many people want answered.”

A spokesman for the mayor did not respond to questions about Zone's call for special investigators. 

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