Man sentenced to 22 years for friend’s murder in Dayton gets 2 more years for pursuit

Van Voorhis was accused of shooting and killing 44-year-old Clinton James “CJ” Pierce of Dayton on or around July 15, 2022.

“Van Voorhis then hid Pierce’s body under multiple layers of flooring materials and other items in a detached garage,” an affidavit filed in Dayton Municipal Court stated.

Dayton police responded Aug. 18 to a house in the 400 block of Burkhardt Avenue after Pierce’s fiancée reported a foul odor coming from the garage off an alley. Inside, officers found the body later identified as Pierce. He had been reported missing in July and is survived by his parents, sister, fiancée, three children and one granddaughter, according to his obituary.

Dayton police issued an arrest warrant for Van Voorhis, who fled in his vehicle when Allen County Sheriff’s deputies tried to detain him near Lima. He was apprehended following a high-speed hourlong pursuit through Allen and Auglaize counties before he finally stopped and surrendered on a rural county road near Anna in Shelby County.

A Montgomery County jury found him guilty March 24 to two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and one count each of gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.