CLEVELAND — Nicole Cunigan Jr., a Dayton man wanted for murder, was taken into custody in Cleveland on Tuesday following a pursuit with police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
According to the OSHP, troopers tried to make a traffic stop on a silver Chevrolet Equinox that was reported stolen and recently used in an aggravated robbery on Kinsman Avenue near East 130th Street at approximately 1:47 p.m.
The OSHP reports that the suspect vehicle failed to stop, leading to a pursuit. The OSHP's aviation unit helped track the Equinox to Phillips Avenue near Lakeview Avenue, where the suspect apparently got out of the car and fled on foot to a wooded area near Osceola Avenue. Officers from the Cleveland Division of Police and OSHP troopers were able to secure the area as they looked for the suspect.
The suspect, identified as the 32-year-old Cunigan, was found inside an abandoned residence in the 12400 block of Osceola Avenue just before 3:20 p.m. Troopers say Cunigan was arrested without incident by the OSHP's Special Response Team and taken to the Cuyahoga County Jail.
The OSHP says Cunigan was found to have an active felony warrant for murder from the Dayton Police Department. According to NBC Dayton station WDTN, Cunigan is accused of killing 32-year-old Precious Taste and 16-year-old Deante Johnson in May. Taste was apparently pregnant with Cunigan’s child.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, troopers were working Tuesday in partnership with the Cleveland Division of Police for the Violent Crime Reduction Initiative in the city of Cleveland.