CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A routine traffic stop in Chillicothe, escalated into a high-speed chase this week, resulting in the arrest of a man on charges of failure to comply, endangering children, and pending drug-related offenses, police said.
Officer Jon Campbell, while patrolling in a marked cruiser, initiated the stop on a gray Chevy Malibu with dark window tint on 7th Street. “As the vehicle passed me, I could not see anything inside due to how dark the tint was,” Campbell said in his report. He stopped the vehicle at S. Paint and 7th Street and identified the driver as Richard Johnson via his Ohio driver’s license.
Campbell noted Johnson’s nervous behavior, including “shallow breathing” and reluctance to retrieve registration or insurance documents. “He seemed very nervous during my interaction with him,” Campbell said. “When I asked for his registration, he looked around but didn’t want to move or open his glove box.”
Suspecting possible criminal activity, Campbell called for Officer Caleb Sizemore and his K-9 unit, Reg, to conduct a free-air sniff. As Sizemore approached, Johnson fled in his vehicle. “The vehicle suddenly accelerated as I approached the passenger side,” Sizemore reported. Campbell pursued, with the chase reaching speeds of 60 mph through city streets, including running stop signs at Caldwell and S. Mulberry Streets.
The pursuit ended when Johnson stopped on Knoles Avenue. Campbell conducted a felony stop, ordering Johnson out of the vehicle. “He was placed into handcuffs, which were checked for proper spacing and double-locked,” Campbell said. Officers then discovered a 5-year-old child, Richard Johnson III, in the backseat, who was released to his stepmother, Jessica Hawk.
After reading Johnson his Miranda rights, Campbell questioned him about fleeing. “He first said it was because he had an ounce of ‘weed’ in the car, but later admitted to fleeing once the K-9 unit arrived,” Campbell said. A K-9 search indicated narcotics, and officers found a baggie of brown powder, which Johnson claimed was his father’s ashes, and white powder he identified as creatine. Campbell questioned if the creatine was used as a “cut” for drugs, which Johnson denied. Officers also recovered $400 in cash from Johnson’s pocket.
Suspecting Johnson discarded drugs during the chase, Campbell directed Sizemore to backtrack the route. “Officer Sizemore located a large plastic baggie containing white powder in the grass on Knoles Avenue,” Campbell said. When confronted, Johnson admitted, “It was coke,” but claimed he threw nothing else.
Sizemore detailed the K-9 search, noting Reg’s alerts at multiple points around the vehicle. “Reg displayed a final response by sitting, indicating the presence of narcotic odor,” Sizemore said. The subsequent vehicle search corroborated the K-9’s alerts.
Johnson was transported to Ross County Jail, facing charges of failure to comply and endangering children, with additional charges pending for tampering and drug possession. The incident occurred under clear, sunny conditions with moderate traffic, covering a distance of approximately 1.09 kilometers.
Police continue to investigate the substances recovered, and more charges are likely.