Auto theft suspect leads to long chase, search
ZANESVILLE − After nearly a week of looking, the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office got their man late Thursday night, when deputies took Shawn Williamson of Zanesville into custody after a long chase and nighttime search.
"This all started last Saturday," said Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz. "We dealt with him Friday night, early Saturday morning after we get a call from a lady who says he has stolen a car, and heading toward Duncan Falls."
Deputies spotted the car in Duncan Falls, but Williamson ditched the car in Philo and fled. Deputies spent the rest of the day searching for him, but came up empty handed. Despite social media reports, Williamson did not have a gun, Lutz said.
Lutz said Williamson stole a second car, a black SUV, from the city, and he had a detective out looking for him on Thursday. The detective was sitting at the intersection of Richards Road and State Route 146 just east of the city limits when a red Mercedes convertible went racing past a high rate of speed toward the city, "with the convertible top halfway up, halfway down, flopping in the breeze."
The detective gave chase, but Williamson was driving recklessly through the Sharon Avenue neighborhood, passing cars on a double yellow line. Fortunately, he didn't hit anything, Lutz said, before turning south on SR60, continuing his headlong flight toward Duncan Falls.
Williamson's attempt to elude the detective in chase involved high rates of speed and using northbound lanes to pass southbound traffic before crossing the Muskingum River and taking to the hills above Philo.
Meanwhile, Lutz was in South Zanesville and decided to head south on SR 555. He caught up Williamson near Irish Ridge Road, the route Williamson had used to leave Philo.
"We got turned around and chased him into a cornfield," Lutz said. Williamson made his way to the edge of the woods, where he threatened to shoot himself.
Williamson started running again, stealing a truck from a nearby property, which he drove into the woods and crashed before fleeing on foot again. Lutz called in the Ohio State Patrol to help, and a helicopter was dispatched to join the search.
The group searched until dark to no avail.
Around 8 pm, Lutz said Williamson made contact with some residences, so the helicopter returned, and deputies took to the woods with ATVs and a K-9 unit. The dog was able to catch Williamson, and he was apprehended. He is currently in the hospital recovering from dog bites, Lutz said, and will eventually be taken to the Muskingum County Jail.
"We are very lucky no one got hurt," Lutz said. "We have some great deputies who kept their composure and their control when he had the gun out." Lutz said Williamson did not threaten the deputies specifically with the weapon, but having the gun and the reckless nature of Williamson flight from law enforcement made for a dangerous situation.
Deputies did not recover the gun when Williamson was apprehended, but will search for it on Friday. Lutz said with rain expected and the large amount of ground Williamson covered, it will be difficult to find. Should someone find the gun, Lutz said to mark the location and call the dispatch center and a member of the MCSO would be out to recover it.
Lutz said Williamson faces "some serious felony charges" from his misadventures, including a parole violation from a 2016 charge of felonious assault on a peace officer, for which he was sentenced to four years in prison.
ccrook@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Auto theft suspect leads to long chase, search
