Two arrests after two simultaneous chases involving stolen cars near Sandusky

PERKINS TWP., Ohio (WTVG) – A bodycam captures the arrest of a woman fleeing from Perkins Twp. police in the Sandusky Mall parking lot. She was one of two people officers led on a chase around 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024.

It started when Perkins County police received a call that someone was breaking into cars at Haleen Kia in Sandusky. When they arrived, officers said two cars sped away.

One of the cars was a Kia heading south on 250. Dashcam video shows the driver eventually jumping out of the car and running toward Planet Fitness as the stolen car rolls into a parked vehicle.

Moments later, Laniya Askew was caught by an officer. As it turns out, the Kia Askew was driving was reported stolen from Summit Place Kia in Clinton Twp., MI, outside of Detroit, according to police. The theft allegedly occurred around 1 a.m., hours before Askew and a man showed up at the Kia dealership in Sandusky, according to police.

There, the two are accused of stealing a Jeep Cherokee from the parking lot. Perkins Township police also pursued this Jeep, which they say went off the road and hit a pole.

Afterward, according to a detective, the driver ran into the Ohio Veterans Home, put on a washcloth and tried to hide. He was eventually caught.

Lajuan Jefferson is charged with burglary, theft and escape, among other offenses. Police said Jefferson and Askew, who faces similar charges, disassembled the steering columns of the stolen vehicles and used tools to manually start the engines.

Both Jefferson and Askew are scheduled to appear in Erie County District Court on Friday morning, September 13, 2024.

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