A Cleveland man who opened fire on a mother during a carjacking — with her 1-year-old son inside the car — and then hurled the infant into the snow before speeding away has been sentenced to more than five decades behind bars.
Ronald Loftis, 47, was handed a sentence of 51 to 56½ years in prison following his guilty plea to three counts of aggravated robbery and felonious assault, along with additional charges. The sentencing was announced Tuesday by Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley.
“Ronald Loftis is a violent predator who terrorized women and children on Cleveland’s Near West Side,” O’Malley said.
What Happened That Morning
The attack took place around 7:30 a.m. on January 2 in the 7900 block of Madison Avenue in Cleveland.
Loftis approached the victim, pointed a gun at her face, and demanded cash. When she told him she had none, he grabbed for her car keys. A struggle broke out — and during the fight, the gun discharged, striking the woman in the face.
With a 1-year-old child still strapped inside the vehicle, Loftis grabbed the baby, threw him out of the car and into the snow, and drove off. Officers recovered the stolen vehicle shortly after and later arrested Loftis at a home on Cleveland’s east side.
The child was not physically harmed. The mother survived and is in stable condition.
He Had Already Attacked Someone That Morning
Roughly 30 minutes before the carjacking, Loftis approached a woman waiting at a bus stop. He told her “Sorry to do this to you,” fired a shot into the ground, pistol-whipped her, and stole her cellphone. The attack was caught on surveillance cameras. He later returned the phone.
Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy A. Todd credited officers and detectives for their swift response.
“This dangerous individual is now off our streets,” Todd said. “We are grateful that she is in stable condition and that the child who was with her was not physically harmed.”
Loftis will spend the next five decades in prison.
