Cleveland-area men arrested after police pursuit in Belmont County | News, sports, jobs

BELMONT COUNTY SHERIFF DAVE LUCAS

A high-speed chase Wednesday ended with two Cleveland-area men in jail.

On Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., Belmont County 911 received a call from Rural King at the Ohio Valley Mall stating that two people had entered a vehicle after allegedly stealing tools worth more than $3,000 -Stole dollars from the store.

Dispatch forwarded the information to the St. Clairsville Police Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. St. Clairsville police located the car and pursued it in a chase on Interstate 70 West. The suspect vehicle reportedly reached speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour before exiting the highway at Exit 213 and traveling south on Airport Road.

According to Belmont County Sheriff Dave Lucas, the car turned left from Airport Road to go up Mills Road and then came back out to get onto US 40 and head west again.

“During this time, other units were trying to get into position for spikes,” Lucas said during a news conference Thursday.

Lucas said the car avoided spikes in the road as it returned to Interstate 70 West. Lucas said the vehicle nearly collided with a police cruiser, causing the suspect driver to lose control in the area of ​​the 211 mile marker.

“Both jumped out after their crash and officers pursued them, and shortly thereafter one of the suspects was located and recovered by the State Highway Patrol,” Lucas said. “So he was taken into custody without incident, but the other person was still on foot.”

Lucas said law enforcement, working with Belmont County 911, issued a reverse emergency alert to alert area residents that a suspected criminal was on foot nearby.

“At approximately 10:30 p.m. that evening, we received calls from residents of a suspect at the (former) Jamboree (In The Hills) location. Units responded and the man fled to the north side, but within minutes of setting up a cordon he was also recovered.”

Byron T. Carner, 33, of Cleveland and Todd D. Williams, 35, of Bedford, Ohio, were both arrested in connection with the incident. According to Lucas, both individuals face charges of aggravated robbery, kidnapping and safe theft in Medina County, Ohio. As Lucas held his press conference, Chief Deputy James Zusack told him that he had just been informed that Carner and Williams were wanted in connection with a series of thefts from Rural King stores in four states that involved $100,000 worth of tools US dollars were stolen.

Both men were being held Thursday at the Belmont County Jail and charged with theft and failure to obey the order of a law enforcement officer. The total bond amount is $12,000 each.