Dayton man in police chase who stole car at knifepoint faces 12 years in prison

A Dayton man faces a dozen years in prison for using a butcher knife to steal a car and later fleeing from police during an 11-minute pursuit.

Christopher Ray Palmer, 35, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to robbery and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer. As a result of his plea, one count of aggravated robbery was dismissed, according to plea documents filed Wednesday.

When he is sentenced Oct. 29, Palmer also will have his driver’s license suspended for at least three years up to life, court records state.

Palmer, armed with a butcher knife, demanded keys around noon Aug. 13 from a man getting out of his car in the 1900 block of Wayne Avenue in Dayton. The other man tried to fight back and ended up with his back on the ground with Palmer over him and a cut to his arm, according to an affidavit filed in Dayton Municipal Court.

“During the struggle, (the man) dropped his keys and Palmer picked them up,” the affidavit stated. “While Palmer was trying to start the vehicle, (the man) approached Palmer in the driver seat and sliced him in the face in an attempt to get him to stop taking his vehicle.”

Christopher Palmer

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

icon to expand image

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Police spotted the stolen car around 3:10 p.m. but Palmer fled a traffic stop, leading to an approximately 11-minute pursuit.

Cruiser camera footage showed Palmer weaving through traffic during the pursuit, at one point narrowly missing a school bus turning at an intersection and clipping the mirror of another car.

The chase ended when an officer used a precision immobilization technique. The cruiser camera footage showed the pursuing officer push the back corner of the stolen vehicle with the nose of the cruiser, knocking it out of control before the car stops.

Palmer is held on $100,000 bail in the Montgomery County Jail.

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