HILLSDALE — Court hearings for a Homer man facing a slew of criminal charges from a police chase Dec. 18, 2024, that started in the city of Hillsdale and ended when he rammed police cruisers before crashing into a utility pole in Allen has changed lawyers.
Ellis Lonzo Howard II, 25, discontinued services with Elias Muawad and has retained Adrian-based attorney John Daly to represent him in court.
In March, Muawad asked Judge Sara Lisznyai for an adjourned pretrial conference to allow him time to discuss a plea offer in detail with Howard and his family. That continued pretrial conference was scheduled for Monday, but adjourned again due to the attorney substitution.
Howard remains in jail charged with four counts of felonious assault, two counts of malicious destruction of private property, second-degree flee/elude police, operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily impairment, driving without insurance, and operating a vehicle without a license.
He is accused of running a red light in the city of Hillsdale which led to a Hillsdale City Police Office initiating a traffic stop around 1:30 a.m. Dec. 18, 2024.
Instead of stopping, Howard took off at a high rate of speed and fled with officers in pursuit.
Speeds reached over 100 miles per hour during the pursuit as Howard led officers down back country roads once out of the city of Hillsdale before he eventually found his way to U.S. 12 where he turned westbound towards Branch County.
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As officers were attempting to deploy stop-sticks to bring Howard’s vehicle to a controlled stop, he rammed police cruisers. He then crashed into a nearby utility pole in the village of Allen.
A female passenger in his pickup truck was seriously injured in the crash and required hospitalization, Hillsdale City Police Chief Scott Hephner said in December 2024.
Howard is being held on a $100,000 cash bond pending adjudication of his case.
— Contact Reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Homer man who rammed patrol cars and crashed during pursuit changes lawyers
Reporting by Corey J. Murray, Hillsdale Daily News / Hillsdale Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
