2 accused of burglarizing Clark County barn

A man and woman from Mechanicsburg are in jail on charges accusing them of breaking into a horse barn and trying to steal property.

The arrest of Joseph Dixon, 32, at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday on Leon Lane ended a manhunt that began when he ran off into a cornfield in an effort to elude capture.

Dixon’s sprint into the crop, during which he left behind a woman believed to be his girlfriend and accomplice, prompted the call-out that involved German Twp. police, Clark County sheriff’s deputies and a K-9 from that office, German Twp. police Chief Michael Stitzel said Thursday evening.

Police responded to an alarm at a barn in the 4200 block of Johnson Road at about 2:16 p.m., Stitzel said.

Police found the woman, 23-year-old Shannon Miller, in the barn as the man with her ran out the back of the building, the chief said. Miller was quickly taken into custody.

More officers were called in, which prompted the search of an area that stretched from Johnson Road to Ballentine Pike to Miller Road. The dog lost the scent, but a German Twp. officer who had been deployed as part of the search watched Dixon pop out of the cornfield on Leon Lane and took him into custody, Stitzel said.

Dixon and Miller had loaded property from the barn — wires, a saddle and other items — into a Toyota Corolla, which has been impounded as evidence.

“They had the back seats pulled out,” Stitzel said.

Both were questioned and taken to the Clark County Jail, where they will be expected to make an initial appearance before a judge on Friday.

Dixon’s charge: felony breaking-and-entering.

Miller, detained on the same charge plus possession of criminal tools and obstruction of justice, has been wanted for arrest in Bellefontaine on charges of obstruction of justice and receiving stolen property, the chief said.

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