“Jose Ervin Jr.’s Family Urges Shooter to Turn Himself In: ‘You See What You Done to My Family'”
The family of Jose Ervin Jr. spoke with News 5 on Saturday, urging the man responsible for his death to come forward and turn himself in.
“I just want to tell the guy, whoever you are, we know who you are. Turn yourself in. You see what you’ve done to my family,” said his father, Jose Ervin Sr.
Ervin Jr. left behind twins, a boy and a girl, whom his father said will now grow up without their dad. “They need their daddy now,” Ervin Sr. added. “We have to step up and raise our grandkids. You took a good man away.”
The tragic incident began at the Turney Pit Stop gas station on Friday morning. Ervin Jr., along with a group of people, had stopped there after leaving a neighborhood bar to grab some food and drinks. Surveillance footage from the gas station shows an argument between Ervin and another man dressed in a white shirt.
Ervin and a woman, who identified herself as a bartender, had just picked up their order and were walking back to their car. The footage then shows the two men getting into a physical altercation, but the two women quickly intervened. Moments later, the video captures Ervin backing away as the man in the white shirt pulls out a gun from his bag. The man then chases Ervin across Turney Road, firing multiple shots as Ervin stumbles and falls near a Dunkin’ Donuts.
Ervin was rushed to the hospital but sadly succumbed to his injuries. The shooter, along with two women seen in the video, fled the scene in a car.
“My son was begging, ‘Don’t do this. Don’t kill me, man,’ but they did it anyway,” said his grieving mother, Rhonda Ervin.
Jose Ervin Jr. was well-known in the community, with even local law enforcement familiar with him. Rhonda tearfully shared how Detective Patrick from the Garfield Heights Police Station, who knew Jose personally, broke down when he learned about the incident. “He said, as soon as he saw him, he knew who he was, and they tried to save him,” she recounted.
His sister, Chloe Ervin-Dozier, added that she wasn’t even allowed to see her brother when she arrived at the hospital. “They had already identified him, and they didn’t want us to see him like that,” she said.
Chloe described her brother as someone who always brought people together. “He was never a threat to anyone. He just wanted to have fun.”
The Ervin family now feels lost without Jose, whom they called “the glue” that held everyone together. “He was awesome,” said Rhonda, reflecting on her son’s life. “I know Jose. He would tell me, ‘Mommy, you’ll be OK.’”
Jose Ervin Jr. leaves behind his wife, Scierra, and their 1-year-old twins. The couple had made headlines in August 2023 for sharing the same birthday with their twins, a story that garnered national attention. Scierra, who is pregnant with their third child, spoke about the immense loss their family now faces. “We just got married in June. We didn’t even get to be married for six months. This is real life. They don’t have the right to steal a life.”
A balloon release in Jose’s honor was held on Sunday at 3 p.m. near the Dunkin’ Donuts where the shooting occurred.
