Deputies: Man steals cruiser, sets off chase

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — A man is in custody after he allegedly stole a Montgomery County Sheriff ’s Office cruiser in Harrison Twp. and led deputies on a pursuit through parts of the township, Dayton, and Trotwood, according to investigators.

Stephen Reynolds, 29, was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on a theft and escape charge, according to Sheriff Rob Streck.

The incident started with deputies responding to reports of a person passed out inside a pickup truck at the Shell gas station on Needmore Road near I-75 around 6:45 a.m., investigators said.

The truck and Reynolds were found at the gas station, and he was initially taken into custody after the truck was found to be stolen.

Several deputies assisting had to leave to respond to a crash, leaving one deputy to finish up the investigation.

While that deputy was out of the vehicle gathering information, Reynolds “was able to change his hands’ position to be in front of him.” He was then “able to crawl through an opening in the patrol vehicle’s security partition.”

Reynolds then fled the area in the cruiser, leading several law enforcement agencies through parts of Harrison Twp., Dayton, and Trotwood with speeds reaching at least 100 mph, scanner traffic during the pursuit indicated.

At one time during the pursuit, the stolen cruiser was traveling the wrong way on U.S. 35 and the Ohio 49 connector, investigators said, with the cruiser traveling north in the southbound lanes.

Spike strips and a tire deflation device were used during the pursuit and punctured at least one tire of the cruiser.

The pursuit ended in Trotwood near the intersection of Ohio 49 and Shiloh Springs Road after the cruiser hit multiple vehicles.

The man was taken into custody shortly after the crashes.

No serious injuries were initially reported.