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

A badly decomposing body found under debris in the detached garage of a Burkhardt Avenue house on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, was later identified as 44-year-old CJ Pierce of Dayton, who was reported missing in July. MARSHALL GORBY / STAFF

Credit: Marshall Gorby

Credit: Marshall Gorby

A badly decomposing body found under debris in the detached garage of a Burkhardt Avenue house on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, was later identified as 44-year-old CJ Pierce of Dayton, who was reported missing in July. MARSHALL GORBY / STAFF
Crime & Law
By
May 17, 2023
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A man sentenced earlier this month to 22 years to life in prison for killing his longtime friend whose badly decomposing body was found in August will spend two more years behind bars for a high-speed chase that led to his capture.

Jeremy Heath Van Voorhis, 48, of Dayton was sentenced Monday in Lima to 24 months in prison by Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Reed. Van Voorhis pleaded guilty April 11 to one count of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, court records show.

ExploreRELATED: Man gets 22 years to life in murder of friend whose body was found under debris in garage

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.

ExploreRELATED: Missing man’s ‘badly decomposed’ body found in Dayton garage
A badly decomposing body found under debris in the detached garage of a Burkhardt Avenue house on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, was later identified as 44-year-old CJ Pierce of Dayton, who was reported missing in July. MARSHALL GORBY / STAFF

Credit: Marshall Gorby

icon to expand image

Credit: Marshall Gorby

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.

Jeremy Van Voorhis

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Jen Roppel Balduf covers breaking news for the Dayton Daily News. She earned a bachelor of science in journalism degree from Ohio University and also writes for the Journal-News, Springfield News-Sun and Dayton.com.