Biography
James Moore was an Afro Set member in Cleveland named as a co-defendant in the prosecution involving Harllel B. Jones. The federal district court’s account places the joint indictment on October 1, 1971, on charges of first-degree murder and shooting with intent to kill or wound, arising from the August 7, 1970 shootings of John Howard Smith and Harlow Tate. On March 13, 1972, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as a lesser included offense of first-degree murder and was sentenced to prison; the shooting count was dismissed. The online docket does not state the sentence length or verify his arrest, prison-entry or release dates. This is the Cleveland Afro Set defendant, not the James Moore imprisoned following the 1919 Elaine massacre in Arkansas.
Documented case
The 1977 district-court opinion in Jones v. Jago identifies James Moore among the Afro Set members indicted with Harllel Jones on October 1, 1971. The Sixth Circuit’s 1978 decision independently names him among the co-defendants. Those opinions concern Jones’s habeas corpus case. His co-defendants’ individual dispositions are documented separately in the county docket below.
The prosecution alleged that Afro Set members carried out retaliatory shootings after a member of the organization was killed. Those allegations are not presented here as an independently established verdict against James Moore. The later finding that prosecutors withheld evidence favorable to Jones must not be treated as a ruling overturning James Moore’s conviction.
Sources
Individual court disposition
On March 13, 1972, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as a lesser included offense of first-degree murder and was sentenced to prison; the shooting count was dismissed. The online docket does not state the sentence length or verify his arrest, prison-entry or release dates. Source: Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts, case CR-71-001961-ZD, docket entry dated March 13, 1972, reviewed October 15, 2026. The disposition narrative records a guilty plea to second-degree murder, the shooting count marked “NOL,” and a prison sentence. The charge-disposition entry lists “CHILLICOTHE CORR.” as the institution sentenced. Judge: Frank J. Gorman.
The county system shows a filing/secret-case event on October 12, 1971, whereas the federal opinion reports an October 1 indictment; neither is substituted for an arrest date. Arrest is listed as N/A.
Exact arrest, incarceration and release dates and sentence length remain unresolved. Official county docket search: search the case number above. The Clerk cautions that online records may be incomplete and should be checked against the original court file.
