BUTLER – The village mayor has been indicted on four counts related to an incident in which he allegedly struck a fleeing suspect with his car, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.
Butler Mayor Wesley Dingus was arrested Sunday by the Bellville Police Department on the indictment, recently returned by a Richland County grand jury, RCSO Capt. Jim Sweat told Richland Source.
Bellville police had investigated the July 11 incident, concluding its work on July 18 and forwarding its findings to the Richland County Prosecutor’s Office.
The indictment against Dingus, 48, alleges aggravated assault and vehicular assault, both fourth degree felonies, as well as falsification (a first degree misdemeanor) and dereliction of duty (a second degree misdemeanor), according to Sweat.
Sweat said Dingus was booked into the Richland County Jail on Sunday afternoon after the sheriff’s department met with Bellville police and transported him to the facility. The captain said he didn’t know where Bellville police located Dingus to make the arrest.
Dingus will spend at least Sunday night in the county jail since courts are not open until Monday.
Bond was set at $25,000 cash and also personal recognizance. When and if Dingus is released, electronic monitoring will also be required and he will have no driving privileges. He also cannot have contact with the victim in the case, according to Sweat.
According to previous Richland Source reporting, Dingus told police he was on his way to buy soda and tobacco at a nearby gas station when he saw Anthony Ward walking down the street near the village’s downtown on July 11.
At the time, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections Adult Parole Authority wanted Ward for a parole violation. The agency had issued a warrant for Ward’s arrest.
Ward was detained by law enforcement the same day — after Dingus hit him twice with his vehicle. Ward was incarcerated at the Lorain Correctional Institution medical facility, according to the Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Correction website Sunday afternoon.
Bellville police Chief Jon Fletcher detailed the department’s findings during a press conference on July 21.
Fletcher declined to speculate on Dingus’ motivations.
“I’m not here to determine if (Dingus) did it intentionally or unintentionally,” Fletcher said in July.
After seeing the suspect on July 11, Dingus had contacted Butler Police Chief Eric Winbigler and told him he had spotted Ward, who was riding in a car driven by his grandmother, and continued trailing the vehicle until the chief arrived.
The car pulled into a convenience store parking lot.
Winbigler pulled into the lot, turned on his cruiser lights and stepped out of the vehicle.
The chief spoke briefly with the grandmother, who confirmed her grandson was in her passenger seat.
Winbigler said he saw Ward lean forward. It appeared the man was attempting to hide and also reaching for something (later revealed to be a backpack).
The chief approached the passenger side of the car, told Ward there was a warrant out for his arrest and demanded he exit the vehicle.
Winbigler said Ward “tried talking his way out of it,” then fled towards Elm Street on foot.
The chief said he reached for his taser, but wasn’t able to remove it from his holster due to an equipment malfunction. While he was attempting to extract his taser, he said he heard an engine revving.
Winbigler looked up and saw Dingus’ car “in the center of Elm Street appearing to corral Ward or stop his forward movement.”
The chief told Bellville police it seemed like Dingus was trying to cut off Ward’s escape route through the alley, not to hit him. He added that if Dingus wanted to run Ward over, he had “every opportunity,” but instead, the mayor drove ahead of him.
Dingus’ vehicle collided with Ward twice.
According to the incident report, Dingus told officers that Ward ran into his vehicle as he was attempting to flee Winbigler.
The second time, the mayor contended, was an accident.
“This gentleman (Ward) started running and I’m like, ‘I’m getting out of here before he grabs the officer’s gun or something,’” Dingus told police after the incident.
“All of a sudden, he darted towards me and I turned left. I think, ‘I’m going to come up through here,’ and he darts in front of me again,” Dingus said.
“It happened so fast, I didn’t know left or right, where to go,” he added.
Ward had a different take when he spoke with investigators.
He told police there was “no doubt in his mind” that Dingus was trying to run him over and he felt he was being targeted.
“This guy was trying to run me over, trying to kill me,” Ward stated, per an incident report.
Dingus spoke with Ward’s girlfriend five days earlier after Dingus’s wife told him a woman was sitting on “the island” — a tiny bit of land near downtown Butler where three streets intersect.
The mayor told police he went down to the island to ask the woman if she was OK, to which she replied, “No, I’ve got to get back home.”
It was a hot day and as Dingus recalls, the woman had no water. Dingus said he returned home to pick up his wife and the two of them drove the woman back to her home in Knox County.
During that drive, the woman told the Dinguses about Ward — who had a warrant out for his arrest.
In his statements to police, Ward later identified the woman as his girlfriend. Richland Source is not publishing the woman’s name to protect her privacy.
Ward went to prison after being found guilty of sexual battery of a minor, a third degree felony, in 2021. He was released on parole in February, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections offender search.
After violating the terms of his parole, Ward was listed as an offender at-large on ODRC’s website with a notice: This individual should be considered dangerous and possibly armed. Do NOT attempt to apprehend this individual. Call your local law enforcement agency or 911.
Ward later told police he left a halfway house in Lebanon, Ohio, out of fear for his safety because residents and staff were pressuring him to sell drugs.