Pickaway – A high-speed chase occurred after a theft at Walmart around 2 pm on Monday.
According to the Sheriff’s department a call from Walmart to a person who had stolen several items including a hat, deodorant, and other small items with the possibility of leaving the store. Associates attempted to stop the suspect but he pushed through running out of the store.
The suspect that we now know as Christopher Brown got into a White Sonata that was waiting for him and left the parking lot that’s when the sheriff’s department attempted to stop the vehicle in front of Taco Bell on US-23 but instead of stopping he put his foot on the gas.
According to the reports he was heading over 100 mph northbound on US-23 when Sheriff’s department ended the close pursuit because he was “splitting lanes” and using the median to pass people. They backed off and radioed ahead for help for the safety of everyone. South Bloomfield and Ohio State Highway patrol waited in the area of the OSP station and Little Walnut.
Law enforcement collected information on the vehicle including the license plate number but was not going to get into a dangerous chase over a minor theft that could be dangerous.
Ohio State Highway Patrol picked up the chase in South Bloomfield, along with South Bloomfield after information that the vehicle may be stolen was relayed. The chase went Northbound into South Bloomfield and then into Ashville by 316 eastbound where Ashville units were waiting.
The car’s tires were spike stripped by Ashville police and three out of the four were deflated eventually, the vehicle came to a stop in the area of 116 East Main Street that’s when the two men ran from law enforcement.
When police arrived on the scene one of the first people they spoke to was an elderly man sitting on a porch. Police asked him if he was in the car and he replied, “No” but he told the officers that the man they were looking for was headed North. Police looked in this area but did not find anyone when they returned to the white car they noticed the elderly man was gone and had left in a hurry. Officers found the man walking up School street where he was detained and later identified as the passenger in the escaping vehicle.
For safety, because the other man was nowhere to be found officers locked down both Ashville East Middle and High school.
A man who previously lived in Ashville but now lives in Wyoming had seen the Sciotopost story and had reached out in a joking way to his friend who lives on Church street asking if he had seen anything because the incident was going down in his area. The homeowner told Sciotopost that he actually didn’t know anything of the incident until his friend shared the post with him. He started looking out his windows and noticed a man hiding under one of the bushes in his backyard. He contacted police and around 4:47 officers located the man in the bushes by his bright green shoes inside the bush.
Christopher Brown, 41 was arrested and charged with Failure to Comply, Inducing panic, Obstructing Offical Business, Driving under OVI suspension, Reckless Operation of vehicles, and Rules governing overtaking passing.
The second suspect the elderly male was not charged.
Ashville police found the stolen items a bar of deodorant that was in his jacket and a grey hat that was found in another resident’s bushes around 20 dollars in value.
Four law enforcement departments were involved in the chase and arrest of this suspect. Pickaway Sheriff, Ohio State Highway Patrol, South Bloomfield Police, and Ashville police department. In the end, no one was hurt and the bad guy went to jail.
