Grand jury declines to indict troopers in deadly shootout

Three Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers will not face charges in a shootout that killed a man and woman who reportedly stole a semi truck with a hostage inside before leading authorities on a multi-county chase that ended in Montgomery County last year.

“Upon consideration of all the testimony and evidence, the grand jury returned a no true bill, finding that the troopers acted lawfully under the circumstances,” the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office said.

On Aug. 2, troopers responded to Terminal Drive

er a semi-truck had been stopped following a two- hour chase.

The incident started in London, Ohio, around 1 a.m. when a police officer stopped a minivan with no rear lights or visible registration. Rodney Helman, 54, and Elaine Helman, 51, fled during the traffic stop and went to a truck stop, where they stole a semi-truck with- out a trailer that had a man inside, according to Lon- don police.

Rodney Helman shot the truck driver in the hand and the couple held him hostage, the prosecutor’s office said. They fled in the semi-truck, hitting a Lon- don police cruiser.

The chase reached speeds of 60 to 65 mph before ending near U.S. 40 around 3:30 a.m.

OSHP’s Special Response Team and members of the Montgomery County Sheriff ’s Office hostage and negot at on team responded and used cellphones to speak to the Helmans, OSHP Lt. Nathan Dennis previously said.

Af er more than four hours of negotiations, troopers approached the semi in attempt to free the hostage. Rodney Helman pointed his gun at troopers and fired a shot toward them and three other troopers returned fire, according to the prosecu- tor’s office.

The hostage was able to escape the semi and troop- ers pulled the Helmans out of the semi to start providing aid. They were trans- ported to Miami Valley Hos- pital, where they were pro- nounced dead.

Both had been shot once, according to the prosecutor’s office. The hostage had sur- gery for the gunshot wound to his hand.

Rodney Helman’s handgun was recovered from the semi. Ballistics confirmed it was fired at least twice, according to the prosecutor’s office.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Special prosecutors from Franklin County reviewed the case and presented it to the grand jury.