Ben.raubenolt

An Akron parolee has been charged in federal court with shooting the woman found near death by hikers along a Cuyahoga Valley National Park trail over the July 4 weekend.

DeZay “Scrap” Ely, 27, is charged with attempted murder and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, according to documents filed Friday in U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio. In November, Ely was released from prison after serving a seven-year sentence for aggravated robbery, involuntary manslaughter and carrying a concealed weapon. He’s been held by authorities on a parole violation since at least July 12.

In the national park case, he’s accused of shooting an 18-year-old woman in the head three times with a .22-caliber pistol the morning of July 3. The woman, whose identity at the time was not known, survived the attack.

FBI agents identified Ely as a possible shooter while the woman was kept unconscious in a medically induced coma. After she awoke, the woman identified Ely as her attacker in interviews with FBI agents on Aug. 8 and 9, according to authorities.

The Beacon Journal is not identifying the victim for her safety.

In an affidavit, FBI Special Agent Christopher Fassler testified that the woman’s family contacted them July 4 to report she had been missing for several days. The family provided the woman’s cellphone number to agents, who searched her call records and discovered calls to Ely’s brother.

Through their investigation, FBI agents learned the woman had been staying with the Ely brothers and their family on West Wilbeth Road in Akron, about a 30-minute drive from where the she was found.

The woman told investigators a man known only as “Ray” drove her and Ely to the trail in a maroon Chevrolet Impala the morning she was shot. Ely had been upset with her the night before. An FBI spokeswoman declined to elaborate.

The woman told agents Ely wanted to test a gun before he robbed someone with it, according to the affidavit. He shot the gun a couple times on the trail and then said it jammed. He then said he heard something, and the woman said he fired at her when she turned to look.

She said she watched Ely flee to the car. Two witnesses and surveillance videos spotted the vehicle driving away, according to the FBI.

She told agents she attempted to stand after she was shot, but she kept falling over. She recalled thinking, “Forget it, I’m about to die,” before closing her eyes. She does not remember the hikers finding her.

The man known as Ray has not been identified or captured. He is described as a heavyset black man in his mid-20s. He stands at about 5-foot-7 and has braided hair in the back.

Ray and Ely are associates of a man called “G,” who the woman said sold Ely the gun, according to the FBI affidavit. He is described as a tall, thin black man in his late 20s or early 30s. The woman said he is from Alabama and used to live in Springhill Apartments.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI at 216-522-1400.

Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ngfalcon.

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