CLEVELAND – Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley announced that Jayrion Church was sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison for the attempted aggravated murder of a Cleveland Police Detective in March 2023.

.

“Jayrion Church knew right from wrong. He made the selfish decision to shoot Detective Bahrijczuk four times, attempting to kill him, over a stolen Kia. I cannot imagine the pain those decisions caused Detective Bahrijczuk, his family, and his fellow officers in the Cleveland Division of Police. I hope Jayrion Church spends the next 20 years contemplating the decisions he made and working to better himself to become a productive member of our community. My thoughts and prayers remain with Detective Bahrijczuk as he continues to recover from his two gunshot wounds.”

Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley

On March 14, 2023, Jayrion Church, 18 (17 at the time of the incident) was driving a stolen Kia along with two other unidentified passengers near East 30th Street and Cedar Avenue in Cleveland. A Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) Detective spotted the stolen Kia and attempted to make a traffic stop. Church did not pull over and continued to drive, crashing into a brick pillar, before bailing from the stolen Kia and fleeing on foot. The CDP Detective began to pursue Church on foot and called out to his partner, Detective Bahrijczuk, Church’s location.

Detective Bahrijczuk located Church and began to stop his zone car. As he was exiting his zone car, Church lifted his firearm, with a 50-round magazine attached, and fired four shots at Detective Bahrijczuk hitting him twice and causing multiple injuries in his arm and leg. Church fled the scene and Detective Bahrijczuk was transferred to a nearby hospital where he was treated for his injuries. DNA evidence, video evidence, and phone evidence linked Church to the crime.

On February 5, 2024, Jayrion Church pleaded guilty to the following charges:

• One count of Attempted Aggravated Murder
• One count of Failure to Comply
• One count of Improperly Handling Firearms in a Motor Vehicle
• One count of Receiving Stolen Property
• One count of Having Weapons Under Disability

He was sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison.