Man in custody after being found in Darke County cornfield following pursuit

DARKE COUNTY — A man is in custody after fleeing Darke County Sheriff’s deputies on foot into a cornfield Tuesday night.

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Deputies were dispatched at 8:27 p.m. to State Route 502 and Ohio-Indiana State Line Road in reference to a pursuit involving Union City Indiana Police involving a gray Mini Cooper, a Darke County Sheriff’s spokesperson said.

They were able to get behind the vehicle as it pulled over and a male suspect fled on foot into a cornfield near the intersection of Palestine-Union City and Wagner Road.

A perimeter was set up after it was reported that driver, Cody Lavy, 38, of Greenville, could be armed.

As sheriff’s deputies were using a drone to search for the suspect, a neighbor called reporting that Lavy was in his yard near the 7500 block of Fisher-Dangler Road, according to the spokesperson.

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The drone found the suspect at a location in a bean field and took him into custody.

Deputies searched the vehicle and found suspected methamphetamine and a firearm, the spokesperson stated.

Lavy is in the Darke County Jail and being held on charges of weapons under disability, possession of a controlled substance, and an unrelated arrest warrant. Additional charges are being filed in Indiana where the pursuit began.

Mutual aid was provided by citizens, Union City Police, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Greenville Police, Winchester, Indiana Police, and Union City Rescue.

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