A North Carolina man has been apprehended after a large-scale man-hunt in Jackson County Tuesday afternoon.
At about 2:45pm, the Jackson Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol attempted to make a traffic stop on a 2009 Audi out of North Carolina on US Route 35 near Chillicothe Pike. The car did stop initially stop and quickly turned onto a dead-end road before having nowhere else to go. When the driver was told to step from the vehicle, a firearm was seen in plain view by the trooper under the edge of the front seat. When the Trooper began to place the driver in custody he was assaulted by the driver who then he fled on foot into a nearby wooded area on foot.
The Patrol quickly received assistance in searching for the man by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. A Patrol helicopter also responded to the area to conduct an aerial search for the suspect. Nearly 20 uniformed and plain clothes officers searched the nearby area for the suspect. A Patrol canine was also deployed to attempt to establish a track of the suspect. The weapon in the vehicle was a loaded 9mm pistol with an extended magazine. The vehicle was also found to have been stolen out of North Carolina.
Nearly two and one half hours later, the Jackson Police Department received information that a man matching the description was dropped off at the Quality Inn on Huron Street. A man hiking at a nearby state preserve met the suspect on a trail not realizing what had transpired and graciously gave him a ride into town after being told he had gotten separated from friend in the woods. The Jackson Police Department responded to the Quality Inn and the suspect ran out a back door and was apprehended by officers without further incident.
The suspect then provided a false identity to officers. Police discovered that the man he was claiming to be had different facial features prompting them to investigate further and eventually finding his true identity. The man was identified as Dentonio Jah’Utley of Spring Lake, North Carolina. Mr. Utley had a full extradition warrant out of North Carolina and was incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail on the warrant.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office will review the case for charges resulting from Tuesday’s incident.