Officials left to wonder if suspect wanted to be caught after series of odd decisions
Police are confused by the moves and motives of a homeless Marysville man.
The Union County grand jury has indicted Todd A. Schaffner, 56, of Marysville, charging him with two counts of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and one count each of petty theft and failure to stop after an accident.
“I don’t know if he wanted to get caught or if he wanted to antagonize law enforcement, but it certainly does seem like there was another objective, other than to just get away,” Marysville Police Deputy Chief Tony Brooks said.
Officials said the man had several opportunities to elude police, but kept going back to the area to reengage with law enforcement.
“Without knowing what he was thinking, we can’t know for sure, but it sure does give an indication he was wanting to get caught,” Brooks said.
According to court documents, about 4:16 p.m. March 30, Marysville police were called to Wal-Mart in reference to a theft. When the officer arrived, a store loss prevention officer explained that a man, later identified as Schaffner, went to the store’s deli counter and attempted to buy $12.48 of meat. The employee said Schaffner used his EBT card to pay, but it only covered $2.
“He then left with the food items and passed the last point of purchase without paying for the food,” according to court documents. “He went to his vehicle, red Honda Accord … and stayed in the parking lot for several hours.”
Brooks said the man was homeless and living in his car at the time.
The store staff pointed out the car and Marysville police went to talk to the man, who said he had the money to pay for the food.
The officer told Schaffner to wait in the parking lot while he went to speak with store officials.
“As I did, he drove away,” the officer wrote in a statement. “I watched as he drove and parked in the parking lot at the Honda Motor Sports. I headed over to the parking lot and he began to pull away as I approached.”
The officer turned on his lights and siren in an attempt to get Schaffner to stop.
“Mr. Schaffner refused to comply and headed out of the parking lot,” the officer wrote. “As he turned left, he struck a Honda Civic causing the side airbag curtain to deploy.”
Marysville officers followed Schaffner from Coleman’s Crossing Blvd. to Industrial Parkway, south toward Dublin.
Brooks said the subject was traveling between 100 and 110 mph with “light traffic, if any” during this portion of the pursuit.
Dublin Police were able to identify the subject, Brooks said, in the area of Dublin Cosgray Road and Route 161. Dublin Police chased Schaffner north on U.S. 42 from U.S. 33, toward Marysville. MPD units disengaged and terminated their pursuit on U.S. 42. Brooks said at this time the Union County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio State Highway Patrol were involved in the pursuit.
“As I headed back to Marysville, I noticed Mr. Schaffner was two vehicles behind me,” the officer wrote in a statement.
Deputies from the sheriff’s office tried to use stop sticks on the road, but Schaffner avoided them and got back on U.S. 33.
Eventually police disengaged and ended the pursuit again.
Schaffner was not done. Later in the evening an officer spotted Schaffner’s vehicle in the Wendy’s parking lot on W. Fifth Street.
The officer told other police officials, but, Brooks said, “the subject must’ve seen her vehicle and immediately fled.”
Schaffner fled onto W. Fifth Street toward the city, but then traveled around Park Avenue, through Legion Park, back onto Fifth Street, then west onto Northwest Parkway.
Brooks said that once Schaffner neared Honda Parkway, MPD did not continue the pursuit but OSHP troopers pursued him into Logan County.
According to reports from the Bellefontaine Examiner, deputies from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office joined the pursuit around 6:15 p.m.
Schaffner then headed west on U.S. 33, where the Ohio Highway Patrol took over the pursuit. 80 unit took over the pursuit.
According to reports in The Bellefontaine Examiner, Schaffner reached speeds in excess of 130 miles per hour U.S. 33.
The man eventually got off the highway and got onto a back road, reaching the Hardin County line around 6:30 p.m.
Again, Schaffner was able to avoid stop sticks deployed by troopers.
Logan County deputies stopped their pursuit after the suspect crossed the county line. An OSHP trooper that had been chasing the suspect from Union County ran out of gas.
An OSHP patrol helicopter lost the vehicle but sheriff’s deputies spotted the Schaffner headed the other direction.
Troopers and LCSO deputies gave chase as Schaffner headed towards Bellefontaine.
Bellefontaine police deployed stop sticks near the city limits. The suspect’s tires were punctured, but he continued eastbound through city reaching speeds near 70 miles per hour.
Eventually, one of Schaffner’s tires came off the car which then came to a stop.
Law enforcement arrested the suspect at that time.
Brooks said units from MPD then took Schaffer into custody and he was transferred to the Tri-County Regional Jail.
Brooks said Schaffner also had outstanding warrants from Champaign County.
“It was more than just a simple theft as the reason for this pursuit,” he said.
If convicted on all charges, Schaffner could face as many as 11 years in prison.