Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018
Suspect charged after police chase
By Tom Stankard
CELINA - Jason D. Amspaugh, 31, Union City, was arrested on Sunday on charges of assault on a police officer, a first-degree felony, and fleeing, a third-degree felony, after a police chase in which he reportedly tried to run over a sheriff's detective.
Celina Police Chief Tom Wale said in a news release the department responded at 5:51 a.m. to a report of a person looking under the hood of a truck at Bud's Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram on South Main Street.
Upon arrival, officers reportedly found the white pickup truck with the hood open. They then began searching the area and requested assistance from the Mercer County Sheriff's Office in an attempt to locate the suspect, according to the release.
Deputy Don Sites reportedly located a 2011 Dodge pickup truck parked on Murlin Avenue near South Street. He recognized the vehicle as one associated with other property crimes in Mercer and surrounding counties. The truck was registered to Amspaugh, according to the release.
While officers were checking the vehicle, the lights came on and an officer could see a male later identified as Amspaugh hunched down inside the cab, the release stated.
Law enforcement officers had the vehicle surrounded and ordered Amspaugh to exit, Wale said in the release.
Amspaugh then started the truck and accelerated toward Mercer County Sheriff's Detective Chad Fortkamp, who was able to get out of the way as the truck sped away southbound on Murlin Avenue, the release stated.
The driver then crashed the truck into a parked car and crossed Schunck Road before entering a ditch and coming to rest, according to the release.
Amspaugh was taken to the Mercer County Adult Detention Facility. His pickup truck was impounded, and a search warrant was obtained from Celina Municipal Court Judge Kathryn Speelman. Celina officers located numerous stolen items, including items from Bud's Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram, the release stated.
Through an ongoing investigation with multiple area agencies and interviews after Amspaugh's arrest, Mercer County Sheriff's detectives applied for and obtained a search warrant through the Darke County Common Pleas Court for Amspaugh's property at 1036 Ellis Road, Union City, the release stated.
An estimated $75,000 worth of stolen merchandise reportedly was recovered at the property, Wale said in the release.
Celina police and Mercer County Sheriff's Office were assisted by sheriff's offices in Darke, Shelby and Auglaize counties, and the Mercer and Darke County prosecutor's offices, the release said. Amspaugh is reportedly being held on a $500,000 bond as the case is being reviewed by the Mercer County Prosecutor Matthew K. Fox.
