Springfield teen carjacking suspect indicted

A Springfield teen accused of being involved in a string carjacking incidents and fleeing police on a four-wheeler last week was indicted on Tuesday.

Ronald Chaney, 18, faces two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of complicity and one count of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer. He is listed as being in custody at the Clark County Jail.

Chaney is one of four teens believed to be involved in the incident on May 22, but he is the lone legal adult.

According to police records, 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 Chaney, 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.

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 last week. 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.

The minor suspects may be bound over from juvenile court due to the violent nature of the charges they also face.

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