Local man arrested after chase in stolen car

CIRCLEVILLE – The report of a stolen vehicle spotted in the city Thursday afternoon led to the arrest of a suspect on Sisk Road in the southwest portion of the county.

Tyler Lowery, 18, of Circleville, is currently being held in the Pickaway County Jail charged with receiving stolen property, failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer with the risk of physical harm, reckless operation, multiple traffic violations and a probation violation from the incident.

Sgt. Jon Eveland, Circleville Police Department, said the incident began with a call about 3:05 p.m. Thursday reporting a vehicle reported stolen on Wednesday had been spotted on North Court Street in the city.

“Someone reported the car was parked on North Court Street and the driver was inside smoking drugs,” Eveland said. “Before an officer got to the area, the caller advised the car left headed southbound on North Court Street.”

Eveland said officers located the vehicle, a 2007 Toyota Yaris, traveling southbound on South Court Street near Corwin, and that is when the chase began.

Eveland said Officer Jon Farrelly and Officer Doug Anderson pursued the vehicle through town at speeds of about 45 miles per hour, but speeds picked up to more than 80 miles per hour once the vehicle reached U.S. Route 22.

Officers continued to follow the vehicle to state Route 104, where the driver headed southbound and then onto Sisk Road in the southwest portion of the county.

“There was a large piece of farm machinery that had the whole road blocked, and the stolen car went around it,” Eveland said. “By the time officers got around it, they lost sight of it.”

Deputies from the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol also joined in the search, which included an OHSP helicopter and canine units from the sheriff’s office and the city police department.

The vehicle was spotted parked behind a barn on Sisk Road by Deputy Jeremy Wallace.

“From that point, a perimeter was set up around the area,” said Detective Casey Thress, Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office. “One of the state troopers spotted someone walking in a field, but by the time he turned around, the guy was gone. At least we knew approximately where to look.”

Thress said Lowery was discovered hiding in some bushes and trees near the property and was taken into custody by Deputy Phil Relli about 6:18 p.m.

“It was really a team effort,” Thress said. “The good thing is, the guy is in custody and nobody got hurt.”

Lowery just recently pleaded guilty to a separate charge of receiving stolen property in March and was sentenced to 16 months in state prison (suspended) and three years of community control.