Suspect Accused In Carjacking At Mayfield Heights Plaza

CLEVELAND — A man accused of a Mayfield Heights carjacking has been taken into custody, federal law enforcement announced this week.

James Belle III, 23, is accused of carjacking a woman in Eastgate Plaza in June. According to the FBI, the woman was picking up a curbside grocery order when a man leaded into her passenger side window, flashed a semi-automatic pistol, and told her, "If you touch the gas pedal, I'll shoot you."

The woman got out of her car and the man jumped into the driver's seat and drove off, the FBI said.

The Mayfield Heights police department, with the aid of federal law enforcement, identified Belle as a suspect in the case. When police recovered the woman's stolen car, they found a plastic cigar tip with DNA on it. The DNA matched Belle's DNA, the FBI said.

On July 20, Mayfield Heights police and members of the FBI's violent crime task force attempted to take Belle into custody. When they arrived at his home, agents saw him breaking window screens on the second floor. However, Belle's family members convinced him to stop trying to escape and cooperate with agents. He was then taken into custody, the FBI said.

Belle was transferred into federal custody on Wednesday. He has been charged with possessing a firearm and taking a motor vehicle that has been transported, shipped or received in interstate or foreign commerce. Belle also possessed and brandished a firearm during a crime of violence, the FBI said.