Teen pursued by Aurora police during car chase wanted in Cleveland murder
Aurora police say they had a surprise after pursuing a stolen into Twinsburg on Friday when they discovered the juvenile driver was wanted on a warrant for murder in Cleveland.
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Police Chief Brian Byard said the pursuit began on state Route 43 at about 3:20 p.m. after a police officer performed a "routine registration check" and found the car had been reported stolen in Cleveland. The officer followed the car until other officers could get there to box it in.
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"The individual saw the officers kind of approach and so they went to drive away and fled down into a front yard," said Byard.
The car then went south on Route 43 into Streetsboro, with a top speed around 80 mph. The car turned right onto a side road and made its way to Frost Road and onto Interstate 480 northbound into Twinsburg.
"We had already called Twinsburg police to set up freeway stop sticks, assuming they were going to go back to Cleveland," Byard said. "Before they made it to the Route 91 exit, their car started smoking heavily and they coasted off into the median."
The driver and two passengers bailed out and ran. One passenger was caught quickly, but the other two males ran into the nearby woods. Aurora police, joined by Twinsburg police officers and Summit County sheriff's deputies, searched for about 90 minutes, but the woods were thick. Twinsburg police used a drone in the search, which eventually located the driver.
Byard said that once identified, the driver, a 17-year-old Cleveland boy, was found to be wanted in connection with a murder in Cleveland and he was taken to the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center. Byard did not have any information about the murder and a Cleveland police spokesperson did not respond to a request for information.
Aurora police charged the driver in Portage County Juvenile Court with fleeing and eluding and receiving stolen property, both fourth-degree felonies. The passenger who was caught, also a 17-year-old Cleveland resident, was charged with receiving stolen property and taken to the Portage-Geauga County Juvenile Detention Center. Byard said he was not found to have any warrants out for his arrest.
The passenger who was not found had not been identified as of Wednesday. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Aurora Police Department at 330-562-8181.
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Juvenile pursued by Aurora police found to be wanted for murder
