MANSFIELD, Ohio — A 31-year-old man, identified as Jeremy Reynolds of Mount Gilead, has been arrested following a multi-county pursuit that involved a stolen patrol cruiser and standoff with authorities.
The situation started around 1:09 p.m. Sunday as troopers from the Mansfield post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol were attempting to “catch up to a suspected stolen vehicle that pulled out of the westbound rest area on US 30 near Interstate 71 in Richland County.”
As troopers began to approach the vehicle on Reed Road, authorities say a traffic stop was attempted as it began driving recklessly.
“The vehicle failed to stop and a pursuit ensued,” authorities said.
That pursuit continued eastbound on US 30 before exiting at Route 309. That’s when authorities say the vehicle drove through numerous roads while striking multiple vehicles. Damage from those crashes caused the vehicle to become disabled in the yard of a residence on Millsboro Road near Lexington-Springmill 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,” authorities said. “After approximately 10 minutes of refusing to exit the vehicle, the female passenger screamed and a suspected gun shot 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 when 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.”
Authorities say Reynolds then fled before re-entering US 30 East.
“Reynolds stopped the patrol car on the shoulder of US 30 near township Road 1255 and carjacked a minivan, leaving the minivan’s driver and passenger at the scene,” authorities explain. “He also left the initial female passenger at the scene and continued to flee. The pursuit ended on state Route 511, south of county Road 30A when troopers made intentional contact with the minivan, where Reynolds was taken into custody.”
Both Reynolds and the initial passenger were taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. He has since been booked at the Richland County Jail.
The driver of the minivan was also taken to a hospital for minor injuries.
No officers were hurt during the incident, which is currently under investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
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Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated story regarding gas prices on March 7, 2022.