Ramone* Clements will be tried in the U.S. Federal Court after he was indicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office with having ammunition as a felon.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. His initial charges with Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court carried about five and a half years.
A U.S. District Attorney spokesperson said that the indictment was handed down by a federal grand jury this morning. Authorities are searching for Clements now to arrest him on the new charge.
We reported earlier this morning that his arraignment for Friday had been cancelled. The Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court will drop its charges against Clements in lieu of the U.S. Attorney's, said the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.
Clements, 42, of Cleveland, had been charged with animal cruelty, discharging a weapon within city limits and having a weapon under disability.
Police say hitting him twice - once each in the head and the shoulder.
PAWS, an animal rescue organization, has also cancelled a demonstration that was supposed to take place outside the courthouse during Clements' appearance.
Clements was on parole after serving a five-year prison sentence for rape of a victim under the age of 13 at the time of the incident. By law, no one convicted of a felony may have a gun in Ohio.
See all stories on the Forest Hill dog shooting.
Anyone with information about Clements’ whereabouts is asked to call 1-800-ATF-GUNS or the Cleveland Heights Police Department 216-321-1234.
*Editor's Note: Clements' first name was spelled Raymone by law enforcement and the courts in several instances, but his federal indictment lists him as "Ramone."
