CLEVELAND, OH – A man with a lengthy criminal record allegedly shot and killed a 27-year-old at a Cleveland light rail station just five days after a nonprofit organization paid to get him out of jail, reigniting the debate over bail reform policies.
Donnie Allen now faces aggravated murder charges in the death of Benjamin McComas, who was gunned down around 7:30 p.m. on December 14 at the transit station. Allen’s bond has been set at $1 million.
The timeline of events has prosecutors and critics fuming. Allen was arrested December 4 on charges including drug possession, breaking and entering, vandalism, obstructing official business, and possessing criminal tools, all stemming from an incident at a light rail station.
His bond was initially set at $15,000, but Judge Joy Kennedy lowered it to $5,000 on December 8. The very next day, The Bail Project, a nonprofit that posts bail for defendants who can’t afford it, paid $500 to secure Allen’s release from Cuyahoga County Jail.
Five days later, McComas was dead.
Allen’s criminal history reads like a rap sheet that should have raised red flags. His prior convictions include attempted burglary, assault on a peace officer, obstructing official business, resisting arrest, and drug possession from 2024 alone. He also has burglary convictions from 2022, 2021, and two counts from 2019, plus criminal damaging.
The Bail Project released a statement saying it “condemns violence” and emphasizing that its mission is ensuring “people are not jailed pretrial solely because they cannot afford bail.” The organization did not respond to questions about whether Allen’s extensive arrest history factored into their decision to post his bond.
McComas’s family is left grieving a young man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, killed by someone who many believe should never have been back on the streets.
Allen is being held on the million-dollar bond pending trial. If convicted of aggravated murder, he faces life in prison.
This dirt bag is exactly the type that 3 strikes law were designed to isolate from normal society. How many crimes would have been prevented had he been permanently locked up?