CLEVELAND, Ohio — A former Cleveland police detective pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a felony drug charge in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Judge Sherrie Miday gave Jon Periandri a $1,500 personal bond on a drug possession charge that stemmed from a string of 2015 text messages that showed Periandri ordering pills from a drug dealer, according to court records.
Prosecutors charged Periandri by information on Jan. 19, about eight months after they first struck a deal that would see Periandri admit to the charge and accept treatment in lieu of conviction.
Periandri could enter the plea at his next court appearance, which is scheduled for Feb. 14 in Common Pleas Judge Michael Russo’s courtroom.
Periandri is also being sued in U.S. District Court by Joevon Dawson, a 32-year-old drug dealer who Periandri shot during a traffic stop in June 2015.
Periandri’s version of events from that day — that Dawson stepped out of the car and pulled a gun just before Periandri fired a shot into the man’s side — has been called into question. The only gun found at the scene was found inside the center console in the car, according to a report by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Dawson and his attorney, Marcus Sidoti, have accused Periandri of using excessive force and violating Dawson’s constitutional rights.
A settlement conference in that suit is also scheduled for Feb. 14 before Judge Dan Polster.
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