Terrill said the suspect did not have any ID on his person and police want to contact his family due to the seriousness of his injuries.
Anyone with any information on the suspect’s identity should contact Detective Kevin Barton at 937-748-1267.
Terrill said the four suspects are believed to be part of a gang going up and down the Interstate 75 corridor and stealing things out of vehicles parked in neighborhoods. Terrill said there were similar thefts reported in Centerville recently.
According to police, investigators said the suspect vehicle, a white Chrysler Pacifica minivan, was used in several recent thefts from vehicles around community parks. About 8:21 p.m. Tuesday, officers were dispatched to Patricia Allyn Park for a theft in progress involving a vehicle matching that description. While en route, the officers passed the minivan travelling on Ohio 73 west at Horizon Hill Drive.
When officers turned around to try and stop the vehicle, it turned north on Bunnell Hill Road. As it travelled northbound, two occupants bailed out of the minivan onto the road. Terrill said when the second suspect jumped out of the moving van, he struck the pavement and was bleeding and unconscious. An officer involved in the chase stopped and stayed with that suspect until Clearcreek Twp. EMS arrived on scene. Another officer continued pursuing the minivan.
The first suspect jumped out of the minivan and fled into an adjacent wooded area, police said. Terrill said the suspect was found by an Ohio State Highway Patrol helicopter equipped with a thermal imaging device, Terrill said. The device found the suspect’s heat signature and guided officers to take him into custody in the 7500 block of Bunnell Hill Road.
The other two suspects in the minivan were forced to bail out after they came up to the roundabout construction area at Bunnell Hill and Red Lion-Five Points roads, Terrill said. After the last two suspects jumped from the moving minivan, it struck a car in a nearby driveway, he said.
Clearcreek Twp. officers requested the assistance of a highway patrol helicopter, K-9 units from Mason, Middletown and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, as well as other officers from Lebanon and Springboro.
State troopers are investigating the vehicle crash report and Clearcreek Twp. investigators are working to identify the other suspects.
Terrill said the suspect in custody, who identified himself as Victor Boyd of Florida, was also taken to Kettering Medical Center for treatment before being transferred to the Warren County Jail. Boyd remains in the Warren County Jail under a $10,000 cash only bond. He was charged with failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony, according to the jail website.
Terrill said additional charges are pending including obstruction of official business, another felony charge. Boyd is scheduled to be arraigned in Warren County Court at 9 a.m. Thursday.
The investigation is ongoing as police obtained multiple search warrants today for the van and the stolen property, Terrill said.
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