One of the minor suspects told police that he stole his sister’s boyfriend’s 2006 silver Honda Odyssey from their home. He told police that he met up with two of the other minor suspects and Ronald Chaney, 18, and the group drove around talking about stealing cars.
According to records, the group tried unsuccessfully to carjack a man of his truck at a gas station, carjacked a 2017 Chevy Equinox, then tried unsuccessfully to steal another woman’s 2019 Volkswagen Jetta.
The woman told police that she was sitting in the passenger seat of the parked car when the Honda stopped in front of the car and a person in a face mask left the car with a gun in his hand. He then came up to the car and told her to get out of the car or he would shoot her, but she froze. She told police that while she stared at the suspect, he looked up at the house and saw her dog at the door, so he took off.
Chaney is believed to have fled from the vehicle on foot shortly before the police chase started, which was after the woman called police and an officer spotted the stolen Honda in the parking lot of Mini Mart on Selma Road, according to police records. Chaney was found trying to flee from police in a four-wheeler, according to records.
Meanwhile, the car stolen car reportedly reached speeds of up to 70 mph in the city and 80 mph in the county during the pursuit.
The pursuit went into the county on Rebert Pike and Fairfield Pike, and the vehicle crashed near the intersection of Garrison Road and Fairfield Pike. Roads were blocked in the area.
Two individuals were apprehended near the car. One person fled the scene and went into a field.
That suspect later was found through the use of a drone piloted by Bethel Twp. Fire Chief Jacob King, who had been called in to help by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
A Springfield police cruiser involved in the pursuit crashed into a wooden fence, but the officer driving was uninjured, Springfield Police Division Sgt. James Byron said during a press conference Tuesday. Byron said the Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating this crash and declined to share further details.
Byron said none of the carjacking victims sustained injuries, and a semiautomatic pistol was recovered in the stolen van. The Chevy Equinox was found parked in the lot of apartments on South Plum Street.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Chaney is being charged with two counts of complicity to aggravated robbery. The teen who said he stole the Honda is charged with burglary, complicity to theft and two counts of complicity to aggravated robbery.
One 16-year-old suspect is charged with two counts of complicity to aggravated robbery, receiving stolen property and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer. The other 16-year-old is charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of receiving stolen property, obstructing official business. He had an active warrant out of Champaign County on another case.
Byron declined to share the criminal history of the suspects during the press conference, but said other incidents are being investigated, for which the police hope to bring charges. He said the teen suspects may be bound over from juvenile court due to the violent nature of the charges.
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