A jury trial opened Monday in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for two men accused of tying up, assaulting and robbing Cleveland Institute of Art student Brandon Cartellone inside his Tremont apartment in 2011, a killing that went unsolved for nearly fifteen years before advanced DNA testing pointed investigators toward suspects. Dionte Davis and Dojuan Nettles have pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, aggravated murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, along with related conspiracy counts.
According to Cleveland 19 News, Cartellone was brutally murdered inside his Tremont apartment on July 26, 2011. Prosecutors say Davis and Nettles went to his apartment near Professor Street and West 10th Street intending to buy marijuana, then tied him up with belts and duct tape, assaulted him and robbed him. Cartellone's then-girlfriend found the 21-year-old dead the next day, and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner ruled that he died by asphyxia from strangulation.
DNA Testing Breaks Open a Cold Case
The case sat unsolved for years until investigators said advanced DNA testing ultimately linked Nettles and Davis to the crime, per the same Cleveland 19 account. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, led by Michael O'Malley, echoed that finding, stating that further advanced DNA testing and continued investigation linked the two men to the killing, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.
The prosecutor's office said Nettles was arrested in Florida on July 9, 2025, and that Davis was arrested in Los Angeles, California, on July 11, 2025. Cleveland 19's report, however, states that Davis, of Michigan, was arrested in August 2025 — a discrepancy in the record that remains unresolved between the two accounts. Nettles is from Florida and Davis is from Michigan, per the station's reporting.
A Polk County Sheriff's Office post on X described the law enforcement reach behind the arrests, noting that the office was contacted by the FBI and the Cleveland Police Department and asked to assist with the investigation into the 2011 killing, identifying Nettles as a possible suspect at the time. The case was investigated by Cleveland Police, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cleveland 19 reported.
Grand Jury Indictments and a Re-Indictment
Cleveland.com reported in July 2025 that Davis, 36, and Nettles, 40, were indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on aggravated murder charges in connection with Cartellone's death, as detailed by cleveland.com. Cleveland Scene reported that the original indictment covered ten counts in total, spanning murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and felonious assault, according to Cleveland Scene. Separately, cleveland.com reported that a judge set Nettles' bond at $1 million following his arraignment in July 2025.
In April 2026, Davis and Nettles were re-indicted on additional charges, including conspiracy to commit aggravated murder or murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, Cleveland 19 reported at the time. Both men pleaded not guilty to the new charges, the station noted.
A Broader Push to Solve Cold Cases
The Cartellone case fits into a wider effort by Cleveland police to revisit unsolved killings using modern forensic tools. In 2018, the Cleveland Department established the Cleveland Homicide Initiative, according to News 5 Cleveland, which also reported that advanced DNA testing has linked the two defendants to the crime.
The jury trial for Davis and Nettles began Monday in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, fifteen years after the young art student's death. Official, current docket information for the case is available through the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts.
