(This story has been updated to add new information.)
PERRY TWP. − A driver led Massillon police on a chase through Perry Township and Jackson Township on the afternoon of Feb. 24 and rear-ended a motorist on Jackson Avenue NW and 12th Street NW.
The fleeing suspect was later arrested, according to Massillon Police, Ohio State Highway Patrol and jail records.
The man, 40, was booked into the Stark County Jail around 3:34 p.m. by Massillon police on felony charges of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and obstructing official business.
He is listed in Massillon Municipal Court records in recent cases as homeless. But Massillon police said that on Feb. 24 he was still living in Perry Township, which was listed as his address in past court cases.
Just after 3 p.m. Feb. 24, Massillon Police detectives tried to serve a felony arrest warrant on the man at the address in Perry Township, according to a statement issued by Massillon Police about 24 hours later.
As the police officers tried to arrest the man, he was able to get to a Lincoln Navigator sport-utility vehicle and drive off through neighbors’ yards to get to Tuscarawas Street W, the statement said. Police lost sight of him.
The man drove the vehicle north on Jackson Avenue NW in Perry Township and around 12th Street NW rear-ended a Dodge Avenger also going north on Jackson Avenue NW, said patrol Sgt. Craig Polasky. The man then drove off again in the Lincoln Navigator, which the Patrol determined had been rented from Hertz. Perry Township Police were occupied with calls and asked the Patrol to respond and investigate the crash.
Perry Township paramedics transported a 20-year-old woman, the driver of the Dodge Avenger, to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital with minor injuries not considered life threatening. The woman had no passengers.
Massillon police officers searching for the man heard about the crash and went to the scene. Witnesses described to investigators a Lincoln Navigator that matched the description of the vehicle of the defendant who had fled.
The Lincoln Navigator was discovered unoccupied in the 2800 block of Kipling Avenue NW in Jackson Township.
Police officers established a perimeter in the area. Massillon Police deployed a K-9 and drone team to locate the defendant. At 3:34 p.m., they arrested the man in the 7400 block of Hills and Dales Road without incident, the Massillon Police statement said.
The man was wanted on at least two warrants, court records say.
Perry Township police alleged in a Jan. 20 misdemeanor assault complaint that he had thrown coffee onto a woman, punched her and pulled her hair during a Jan. 15 argument. At his arraignment on Jan. 30 in Massillon Municipal Court, he was released on a recognizance bond of $5,000. Judge Joel Fichter issued a bench warrant for his arrest on Feb. 24 when he failed to appear that day at a pre-trial hearing in Massillon.
Massillon police on Feb. 19 also obtained a warrant for his arrest on a felony charge of menacing by stalking. The complaint alleges he called a female victim hundreds of times and showed up at her home uninvited at multiple times.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges related to the pursuit in Massillon Municipal Court on Feb. 26.
Staff writer Nancy Molnar contributed to this story.
Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Man arrested after police chase and crashing into vehicle in Perry
Reporting by Robert Wang, Canton Repository / The Repository
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