This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
A police pursuit of an attempted murder suspect that began in Hudson on July 7 ended in a dramatic crash involving a flipped Summit Metro Parks police cruiser in a Stow neighborhood.
Julius Edwards, 39, was wanted in connection with an attempted murder investigation in Canton, according to a press release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which is leading the investigation.
Edwards, who is from Canton, was taken into custody after the crash. He is being held at the Summit County Jail on a parole violation.
Canton police charged Edwards with attempt to commit murder, felonious assault and domestic violence.
Additional charges are expected to be filed against him for the incidents that followed, which troopers say included vehicle pursuits, a crash that injured two people, a carjacking and an exchange of gunfire.
No officers were injured.
Here’s what we know about what happened.
Why was the suspect, Julius Edwards, on the run?
A 33-year-old Canton woman was stabbed multiple times about 6:10 a.m. July 7, resulting in serious injuries, according to a report from the Canton Police Department.
The victim’s mother told Canton police that her daughter had a verbal argument with her boyfriend before she was stabbed.
Police searched the home but didn’t find the boyfriend.
“While on scene, a male’s voice came through a Ring camera on the front door, and stated he wanted to kill her and tried to do so,” the report stated. “The male identified himself as a Julius Edwards. At this time Julius believes he did kill her.”
The victim was taken to Aultman Hospital in Canton for treatment of five stab wounds to the upper arm, two in the groin, two in the abdomen and one each in the right thumb, hip, neck, lip and right thigh, according to the report.
The victim’s two children were in the home when the stabbing happened but were asleep in their rooms and not injured.
The victim was in stable condition as of the morning of July 8, said Lt. Dennis Garren of the Canton Police Department.
How did the chase start?
At 3:21 p.m., Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers were told to be on the looked for a gray Kia Telluride driven by Edwards after the vehicle fled from Canton police officers and United States marshals.
After the vehicle was spotted by Flock cameras, troopers saw Edwards’ vehicle about 7:30 p.m. on Darrow Road in Hudson. Troopers attempted to pull Edwards over, but he fled, running a red light at Terex Road.
This caused a crash that injured two people who were taken to the hospital for treatment, said Kathleen Sullivan, a spokesperson for Hudson.
Edwards exited the vehicle and fled on foot. He fired at a trooper chasing him and the trooper returned fire. Edwards fled into nearby woods, according to the patrol’s press release.
Law enforcement set up a perimeter to try to locate Edwards.
Suspect is spotted in vehicle that had been carjacked, troopers say
Edwards was next spotted about 8:30 p.m. in a minivan he carjacked, according to the patrol press release.
The carjacking happened at 5374 Darrow Road, outside of Christ Community Chapel. The driver of the Chrysler Town & Country had minor injuries and was taken to the hospital for evaluation, said Sullivan, Hudson’s spokesperson.
After a chase that involved multiple agencies and lasted about 10 minutes, Edwards struck a Summit Metro Parks cruiser, which resulted in a rollover crash near Saybrooke Boulevard and Bunker Lane in the Partridge Highlands neighborhood in Stow.
Edwards exited the vehicle and tried to flee but was taken into custody by Stow police officers behind a nearby house, according to a statement by Stow police.
What did witnesses in Stow neighborhood see happen as chase went through Fox Den Golf Course?
Videos on social media showed police pursuing the suspect in the stolen minivan going through Fox Den Golf Course in Stow.
Witnesses said the chase through the usually quiet Stow neighborhood off Fishcreek Road came to an end about 8:35 p.m. when Edwards slammed into a parked Summit Metro Parks park ranger cruiser that was trying to divert traffic.
The officer in the cruiser saw the speeding minivan approaching and jumped out before his vehicle was overturned and totaled, Summit Metro Parks told News 5 Cleveland, the Beacon Journal’s news partner.
The driver then fled on foot, according to witnesses.
“The car he flipped over was parked at a stop sign,” said Sam Nowak, 15, who witnessed the crash and subsequent pursuit.
The cruiser flipped on its side and landed in the front yard next to Kim Smith’s home.
Smith said she was in her dining room when she heard police sirens screaming down the street.
“And then I saw the car zooming down the side yard, and then I saw the police with their guns drawn,” she said.
“And then I heard the bang” of the crash, she said.
Courtney Cooper lives next door to where the crash happened. Her son had just asked to go outside and ride his scooter – and she’s now grateful she said “no.”
“He would have been right there,” she said.
She saw officers get out of their vehicles to chase the suspect through yards as he ran from the minivan after the crash.
“Stay in the house now!” she yelled at her family.
A friend who lives on Lockwood Circle in Stow told her they saw officers apprehend the fleeing man there.
Another resident, Josh Duda, estimated the vehicle was traveling at least 50 mph when it struck the parked cruiser.
Stolen car hits Summit Metro Parks park ranger cruiser
“He hit that Metro Park car straight on and flipped it over,” Duda said
Melissa Mocek and her husband, John, were watching TV in their home on Saybrooke Boulevard when they heard a “bang” from the crash and sirens.
“So we looked out the front window and I was like, “Holy crap, there’s a cop car in our front yard,’” she said. “So then we went upstairs to get a better view and we saw a whole bunch of cops and all the cars, and they were running through our yard to the backyard. …They were very clearly chasing someone.”
When things calmed down, she said, they then talked to the officer parked in their front yard, who told them they had been chasing a fugitive who had stabbed his girlfriend multiple times.
Golfers at Stow golf course film police chase through course
A police chase that began in Hudson and ended with a crash in a Stow neighborhood at one point went through Fox Den Golf Course in Stow.
There was no damage to the course and no one was injured, said Brian Suydam, assistant manager at Fox Den.
A minivan being chased by dozens of police cruisers entered the course about 8:30 p.m., then exited through someone’s yard on Hole 6, Suydam said.
Suydam said he sent a message to everyone on the course to exit and go into lockdown, but many golfers didn’t comply because they were capturing video.
Among them was Ben Hyle, 35, of Kent, who started filming as the pursuit barreled toward him. He said he assumed it was “some kid doing something stupid.”
“Obviously, the situation was much more serious than that,” he said. “I don’t know if I would have filed the way I did if I would have known the severity of the situation.”
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Canton Repository staff writer Aaron Hughes and Akron Beacon Journal Executive Editor Cheryl Powell contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Canton stabbing leads to police chases in Stow, Hudson: What we know
Reporting by Stephanie Warsmith and Lauren Cohen, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Stephanie Warsmith and Lauren Cohen, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
