Ohio Man Gets Life for Killing After JACK Cleveland Casino Fight

Posted on: January 21, 2026, 04:05h. 

Last updated on: January 23, 2026, 11:49h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Chandler sentenced to life for killing after casino altercation.
  • Victim found shot in SUV at traffic light near Bedford.
  • Jurors rejected self-defense; judge called the killing an “execution.”

An Ohio man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a man he argued with at JACK Cleveland Casino.

A mugshot of Tyrell Chandler, 21, who will spend at least the next 21 years in prison for the killing of Clarence Houston. A jury rejected his plea of self-defense. (Image: US Marshals)

Tyrell Chandler must serve 29 years, the same number as his current age, before he can seek parole for the killing of Clarence Houston on March 7, 2025.

At around 5:50 p.m. on that day, Houston, 31, was found slumped in the driver’s seat of his black Ford Explorer, suffering from a gunshot wound.

“It was still light when it happened,” Deputy Chief Rick Suts of the Bedford Police Department told the court. “There were a lot of cars at the intersection. The victim was actually stopped in traffic at the light going southbound where the shots came into his vehicle. We had a person walking on the sidewalk that saw everything and another person riding by on a bike.”

‘This Was an Execution’

Earlier that day, Chandler and the victim were caught by the casino’s security video engaged in a physical altercation. Afterward, the men drove away in separate vehicles. But prosecutors argue Chandler tailed Houston before firing five rounds into his car, killing him.

“This was an execution,” Judge David Matia told Chandler in a Cuyahoga County courtroom during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing. “You drove by, you fired into the car, and you killed someone who was doing nothing but just waiting in traffic.”

Chandler was convicted last week on charges of murder, felonious assault, discharging a gun near a prohibited area, and firearm offenses after jurors rejected the claim that he acted in self-defense and, in his words, “had no choice.”

Matia said that the altercation at the casino resembled two children shadowboxing. “I don’t believe that I saw any of you even land a punch. And you base the murder of another human being on that?” he asked, as reported by The Plain Dealer.

Testimonies Barred

Chandler’s lawyer, Christopher Maher, told The Plain Dealer after last week’s conviction that Houston had been violent toward his client and his family in the past, but said this had not been admissible as evidence in court.

All of that testimony and evidence was barred from use at trial,” Maher said. “We believe very strongly in our self-defense claim. … The true story of our case makes the plot of Cape Fear look mild in comparison.”

Assistant county prosecutor Ben McNair described the killing as a “senseless crime.”