Two Cleveland brothers were arrested in a human trafficking investigation Wednesday after exchanging gunfire with federal and state agents during a raid, officials said.
Reuben and Dominique Rankin, ages 34 and 29, have yet to be charged with any crime, a spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office said. They were arrested after the raid.
Reuben Rankin, 34, and Dominique Rankin, 29, were arrested Wednesday in a human trafficking case.
Agents surrounded a home around 7 a.m. Wednesday, the Plain Dealer reported.
A law enforcement source told the paper that Reuben Rankin fired at least one gunshot at the officers. They returned fire, but no one was hurt in the exchange, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Khaalid Walls.
Five children between 6 months and 3 years old were removed from the home following the raid, according to a county spokeswoman. The details of the human trafficking investigation were not immediately clear. The Ohio Attorney General Office Task Force and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department are investigating.
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The brothers’ arrest is the latest in a long criminal rap sheet dating back nearly 15 years. Reuben Rankin has been found guilty in multiple incidents of kidnapping, assault, and armed robbery, for which he has served prison time.
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Dominque Rankin served one year in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl, the Plain Dealer reported. In that case, he was ordered to register as a sex offender, which he failed to do, resulting in a July sentence of two years’ probation.
