MANSFIELD –- It began with the pursuit of a suspected stolen vehicle on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
It ended with shots fired, a stolen Ohio State Highway Patrol cruiser, a carjacking, a standoff and finally the arrest of a 31-year-old suspect from Mount Gilead.
Troopers from the Mansfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol ultimately arrested Jeremy A. Reynolds after he led them on a multi-county pursuit.
At 1:09 p.m., troopers from the Mansfield Post attempted to catch up to a suspected stolen vehicle that pulled out of the westbound rest area on U.S. 30 near Interstate 71 in Richland County.
As troopers began to catch up to the vehicle on Reed Road, it began to drive recklessly and a traffic stop was attempted, according to Sgt. Ray Purpura of the OSHP.
The vehicle failed to stop and a pursuit ensued. The pursuit continued eastbound on U.S.30 and exited at Ohio 309. The suspect drove through numerous roads, striking multiple vehicles.
The damage from those crashes caused the fleeing vehicle to become disabled in the yard of a residence on Millsboro Road between Lexington-Springmill Road and Lexington-Ontario Road.
After the vehicle became disabled, Reynolds refused to comply with verbal commands to exit his vehicle from troopers, Richland County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Ontario Police Department officers, Purpura said.
After approximately 10 minutes of refusing to exit the vehicle, the female passenger screamed and a suspected gunshot was heard.
For approximately the next 30 minutes, Reynolds continued to refuse the orders from officers to exit the vehicle.
The vehicle was smoking heavily, caught fire and Reynolds exited with the passenger and moved westbound toward an Ohio State Highway Patrol cruiser as shots were fired by law enforcement on scene.
Reynolds and the female passenger then fled in the patrol car that already had its overhead emergency lights activated.
Reynolds drove eastbound on Millsboro Road and other connecting roads until re-entering U.S. 30 eastbound.
Reynolds stopped the patrol car on the shoulder of U.S. 30 near Township Road 1255 and carjacked a minivan, leaving the minivan’s driver and passenger at the scene.
He also left the initial female passenger at the scene and continued to flee.
The pursuit ended on Ohio 511, south of county Road 30A in Ashland County, when troopers made intentional contact with the minivan and Reynolds was taken into custody.
Reynolds and the initial female passenger were taken to a local hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Reynolds has since been incarcerated at the Richland County Jail. The driver of the minivan was taken to an area hospital for minor injuries.
No officers were injured during this incident, Purpura said.
The investigation regarding the officer-involved shooting is being handled by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. It’s not known which officer(s) fired shots.
