Mentor man in jail after evading police

Police are still piecing together an incident involving a fleeing driver and damage to a Willoughby car dealership the afternoon of Aug. 15.

At about 1:15 p.m., the family of a 33-year-old male from Mentor asked for a welfare check because he wasn’t “acting right,” said Willoughby Sgt. Chris Scozzie.

Kirtland Hills police first located the man in his vehicle.

“At some point, he took off from Kirtland Hills and Mentor police officers,” Scozzie said.

Both eventually terminated the chase because of his reckless driving, he said.

The vehicle was somehow disabled and ended up in front of Leiken Volvo at 38750 Mentor Ave. in Willoughby.

Mentor Police Department, which had followed from a distance, spotted the vehicle and communicated the location to Willoughby police.

“He had run into the dealership with a metal bar,” Scozzie said. “Once inside, he grabbed a handful of keys off a desk and attempted to steal a car. None of the keys worked, so he ran back outside and tried car door handles.”

When those didn’t work either, he smashed a window in the dealership and ran out the other side, Scozzie said.

“A 70-year-old male was there picking up his car,” he said. “He forced him out of the driver’s seat (and took the car) all before Willoughby officers arrived.” The 33-year-old man then headed west, where Wickliffe police tried to stop the stolen vehicle. At some point he crashed in Euclid, where he was taken into custody, said Scozzie, noting that some details were unclear at that point.

He did not appear to be injured but was taken to Lake Health West Medical Center as a precaution. He then was transported to the Lake County Jail.

Police do not suspect that alcohol or drugs played a role in the incident, Scozzie said. However, he said it is anticipated that the man will face charges of robbery, grand theft, vandalism and possession of drug abuse instruments in the form of syringes found in his car.

His name isn’t being released until he is formally charged on Monday. Scozzie said.