XENIA — Five people, including four juveniles, were arrested Friday morning after allegedly breaking into the Sugarcreek Twp. Target before leading police on a chase, according to investigators.
Prior to the suspects being captured, officers had been searching for their get-away vehicle around midnight, but not for the break-in at the Target, said LT Matt Schmenk, commander of the Xenia Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.
Around midnight the vehicle was spotted driving “aggressively,” and officers attempted to stop it. But, the driver wouldn’t stop, and officers opted not to chase them because they determined it was unsafe to do so at that time, Schmenk said.
Troopers were on the lookout for the vehicle, when it was spotted going about 101 mph east on U.S. 35. just before 4 a.m. A trooper attempted to stop it, but the driver sped up and exited off the bypass and went into Xenia, Schmenk said, noting that troopers were not aware at the time that the suspects had allegedly broken into the Target.
Xenia officers were alerted and they put out stop sticks to disable the vehicle and it came to a stop in an parking lot at Allison Avenue and Main Street. All five suspects bailed out and ran on foot toward an apartment complex, and officers quickly set up a perimeter and captured them within 30 minutes, Schmenk said.
Body camera footage showed Greene County deputies assisting in the arrest of some of the suspects.
Several electronic items were found in the vehicle, which officers determined was stolen as well, he said.
It’s unclear if the suspects are the same ones who have been committed a string of robberies in the area recently. But officers have plenty of surveillance video, and they will soon make that determination if the robberies are connected, Schmenk said.
There is a second vehicle that officers are also looking for, and Schmenk is urging the occupants of that car to come forward, he said.
In addition to state troopers, Xenia police, Greene County Sheriff’s deputies and Kettering police, which provided a K9 to help search for the suspect, were involved.
“At the end of the day we’re just glad that everything worked out where nobody got hurt and we got this vehicle stopped and everybody is in custody,” Schmenk said.
Update@5:55 a.m.:
Police are searching for a second vehicle, as more suspects could be on the loose, officials said.
A K9 from Kettering was called to the scene to help catch the suspects that are in custody, police said.
Update@5:23 a.m.:
The search has ended, as all five suspects are in custody, police said.
The Xenia post of the Ohio Highway Patrol initiated the chase, and they coordinated with multiple jurisdictions to pursue the suspects, officials said. Officers used stop sticks to disable the suspects’ vehicle, and it came to a stop in a Dominos pizza restaurant parking lot in Xenia, police said.
First report:
Several law enforcement agencies are searching for suspects who are accused of breaking into a Sugarcreek Twp. Target and leading police on a high speed chase early Friday morning.
The chase reached speeds as high as 100 miles per hour, according to scanner traffic. The suspects later pulled into a parking lot at Allison Avenue and Main Street in Xenia and bailed on foot toward a nearby apartment complex, according to the Xenia Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.
Three of the suspects have been taken into custody, and officers are still searching for others. It’s unclear how many total suspects there are.
We will continue to follow this story and bring you the latest information as it becomes available.
