DAYTON — >>PHOTOS: Fire at Hewitt Soap Factory
A Tipp City man told police he was nearly run over this evening after he tried to confront two suspected metal thieves.
The 56-year-old man dialed 911 to report a theft in progress around 5 p.m. at the old Hewitt Soap Factory, 300 Linden Ave.
He said he was on his way home from work when he saw a red pickup truck on the property. He walked up to the truck to get its license plate number when he spotted a man later identified as Jacob Schiessler come out of a vacant building, and saw another man, later identified as Scott Schiessler, load metal into the bed of the pickup, according to a Dayton police report.
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The man said when he confronted the men about the theft, Jacob Schiessler threatened him and he backed away at the urging of the 911 operator.
Then, he said Jacob Schiessler got into the driver’s seat of the pickup, accelerated and tried to run him owner. The victim said he was able to run out of the way to avoid being struck, the report stated.
Police found the pickup at First Street Recycling, 1400 E. First St.
The victim identified Jacob and Scott Schiessler as the men involved in the incident at the Linden Avenue site, the report stated.
Both men were booked into the Montgomery County Jail on suspicion of felony breaking and entering, and Jacob Schiessler also faces a felonious assault charge. They are due to be arraigned Friday afternoon in Dayton Municipal Court, online jail records show.
The old Hewitt Soap Factory ceased operation in 2004. It had a massive fire Dec. 22, 2016, that destroyed a building at the facility constructed in 1897. A second large fire erupted Nov. 10, 2017, this time at a three-story building on the site's northern side.
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