CLEVELAND — For five years, a nearby McGowan Park resident said the lights surrounding the area weren’t working, so he asked News 5 for help.

Sheila Wallace was shot twice in January 2019. Neither the motive nor the relationship between Wallace and her killer has been identified. His killer was sentenced to 15 years in prison at the end of October.

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“Even if it was an accident or something, I just want to know what makes a person shoot so many shots at someone you don’t even know, for no reason. What triggered you, man? Wallace’s daughter, Katie, said.

I’ve been speaking with a resident who has lived near McGowan Park for a few weeks. He requested anonymity out of fear for his physical safety.

He said he had lived in his home for four decades but decided to pack up as criminal activity in the area continued to escalate.

“Prevention is better than cure,” he said.

He described the McGowan Park neighborhood as “extremely bad, but slowly improving.”

His surveillance video provided to News 5 shows a man brandishing a gun near the park while another clip shows another man checking vehicles to see if they are unlocked.

“There is a lot of drug activity in this area. Lots of people rushing around at all hours of the night. It’s quite depressing,” he added.

He previously said better lighting in and around McGowan Park would be a deterrent to crime.

We stopped at the park in October and saw many lights, but no lights were working consistently then.

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Two lights would come on for about 10-15 seconds before turning off again.

The McGowan Park lights are owned by First Energy.

At the time, a First Energy spokesperson said the company would look into the matter.

Within 24 hours of News 5’s coverage of the issue, the anonymous resident said crews were assessing the situation.

“The very next day the Illuminating Company was on site assessing the work that needed to be done and every day for about a week they were here trimming trees,” said the resident we interviewed. “It took a lot of men, a lot of hours to do it, but they did it.”

Thanks to the lights, he said there is less foot traffic at night and he no longer feels the need to turn on his vehicle’s high beams when he gets home.

“I’m delighted. It’s just a completely different place,” he added. “I would like to thank the News 5 team, Kaylee Olivas, your cameraman, Mark and everyone who was instrumental in making this happen. I really appreciate it.

As a reminder, to report a public lighting outage, please call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) or fill out the online form. Customers will need:

• Their name and telephone number (in case FirstEnergy needs more information).
• Address where the lamp post is located (address of the nearest home or business and nearest cross street).
• Number on the electric pole.
• What is wrong with the street light (damaged pole, broken light fixture, light off at night, on during the day or flickering).

At News 5, we follow through. If you need assistance, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 216-431-3700.