A detective around 1:30 p.m. Oct. 18 spotted Hancock — wanted on felony charges of gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in the death last November of a 36-year-old man found wrapped in a tarp — and alerted other police units, Dayton police Lt. Mark Ponichtera said previously.
The victim in the case was identified as Matthew Joseph Edward Thomas of Dayton, who was pronounced dead Nov. 1, 2023. His death was ruled a homicide.
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Hancock reportedly rammed the detective’s unmarked police vehicle to get away.
Witnesses said a man was sitting in a vehicle at a BP gas station on Salem Avenue when Dayton police told him to get out and tried to block him in. The man’s car and a police vehicle crashed and the man kept going.
Police dash camera and body camera video footage released Monday shows a uniformed officer at the Sunoco gas station on Free Pike approach the suspect car with his gun drawn. The driver, later identified as Hancock, did not comply with commands to get out of the car and drove toward Wentworth Avenue.
Soon after, he bailed out of the car and ran to the apartment building at 2765 Wentworth Ave., near the intersection of Salem and West Siebenthaler avenues.
The area around the 147-unit apartment building was blocked and surrounded by yellow crime tape and dozens of law enforcement vehicles. Many officers had long guns out. At least one Dayton K-9 team also responded to help track the wanted man.
The building requires a key card or someone inside buzzing the door open to access, but Ponichtera said that doors may have been left ajar, which seems to be how Hancock, and officers after him, gained access.
At first police did not know where he was in the building. Many police units called were called, the lieutenant said, because the large-scale apartment building needed a large-scale police response. Police also closed the parking lot due to a “line of sight” issue, he said.
Police eventually determined Hancock was in a fifth-floor unit. When police contacted the tenant, they learned the resident was not home but did know the suspect but not whether he was still inside, Ponichtera said.
A SWAT team arrived shortly before 5 p.m., more than three hours after the Dayton Police Department responded and shut down Wentworth Avenue.
A negotiation team also was called, and initially Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies also responded to help search.
Hancock reportedly did not respond to attempts to contact him, and shortly before 7 p.m. police entered the apartment using a robot from the Dayton Bomb Squad.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Ponichtera said he surrendered peacefully. Despite the large disturbance to the building’s residents there were no injuries. The unmarked police car that was rammed was damaged but the detective driving it was not hurt, he said.
In addition to the charges, Ponichtera said Hancock was a person of interest in Thomas’ homicide.
Police responded Nov. 1, 2023, to the first block of Richmond Avenue after a 911 caller reported seeing two men putting what appeared to be a body wrapped in a tarp in a truck bed. As part of its investigation, the Dayton Police Homicide Unit was seeking an older model red and white Ford pickup truck.
It is not clear whether police have identified as second person involved in the case.
Hancock remains held on $250,000 bail in the Montgomery County Jail.
Staff writer Daniel Susco contributed to this report.
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