Pickaway County – A shooting that occurred in 2021 was finally solved and the shooter was brought to justice just this month after years of work from Pickaway County sheriff’s office investigators.
On August 27, 2021, authorities responded to a shooting incident at 177 Neville St. Deputies secured the area, identified as the east parking lot, where a white semi-tractor and blue trailer were parked with their engines running and the driver’s door open. Evidence including a pair of Ohio State Buckeyes slides, a pool of blood, and a Bic ink pen, along with a bullet, was found near the semi, marking the crime scene. The area was cordoned off and evidence markers were placed pending processing by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
Photographs of the scene were taken while other investigators began interviewing witnesses. The victim, identified as an individual involved in a road rage incident, recounted the events leading up to the shooting. After arriving at 177 Neville St. to deliver a trailer, the victim was shot in the foot by the male driver of the SUV, who then fled the scene with a female passenger.
The victim, transported to Grant Medical Center, provided permission for investigators to retrieve his truck’s dashboard camera/GPS unit. Analysis of the footage revealed the incident at Pickaway Crossing and provided the vehicle’s registration number, which linked to a Columbus address. Law enforcement were informed, but the vehicle was not found at the registered address, and neither was the suspect.
Investigators learned that the possible suspect was Chad Craft and a female companion, who were defined as drifters often moving from place to place, manipulating and scamming people for money.
Pickaway County Investigators followed many leads in the case including contacting a Sheriff office in Levy County Florida where the couple owned property. That lead in 2021 also ran cold after Florida deputies searched for the man at the location and found they had been there but were gone. Several more attempts for contact at that address were attempted but Craft alluded to capture.
It wasn’t until 2023 when Pickaway County Sheriff’s office was alerted to Craft spending time in Hamilton County jail that they were able to finally talk to the suspect. Craft told Deputies that he wasn’t interested in talking and wanted to seek counsel before speaking.
With enough evidence for a possible conviction, Craft was indicted on felonious assault of the second degree. In May of 2024 he reached a plea deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to Felonious Assault he was sentenced to 3 to 4 1/2 years (max sentence) in prison and a mandatory period of post-release control of up to 3 years.
