Accused I-71 shooter being held without bail, trial set for June

Jonathon Myers, the gunman accused of shooting at least three passing vehicles plus a Columbus police car before he was shot by police earlier this month on Interstate 71, used a walker Monday morning as he limped into Delaware County Common Pleas Court.

Myer’s defense attorney, Jeremy Dodgion, told Judge David M. Gormley that he would not contest a motion from Delaware County Prosecutor Melissa A. Schiffel to deny bail because of his client’s failure to appear after posting bail on five previous felony cases in Franklin County.

Gormley denied bail, ordering Myers be held in the Delaware County jail pending a trial scheduled for June 7.

Schiffel said she expected a trial to last four days and include 20 witnesses.

Myers, 21, of Columbus’ Northland area, is accused of shooting at motorists and police on March 11 after crashing his car along Interstate 71 north of the Gemini PLACE/IKEA Way exit in Delaware County. He faces 27 criminal counts, included attempted aggravated murder. If convicted on all charges, his sentence could exceed 100 years in prison

Myers faces five counts of attempted murder, four counts of attempted aggravated murder; nine counts of felonious assault; eight counts of discharging a firearm on or near a prohibited location and one count of having a weapon under a disability because Myers had previous felonies in Franklin County.

Other gun specifications were attached to each of the murder and felonious assault counts which, if he is convicted of those counts, could add to Myers’ time in prison.

After the hearing, Dodgion, who previously has represented Myers in several criminal cases in Franklin County, said that he was “very surprised” to learn about the interstate shooting, “like everybody else.”

Asked about the social media, Ohio Department of Transportation and police dash cam videos showing a man on foot darting across I-71 northbound lanes, waving a gun and firing at motorists and then law enforcement, Dodgion said, “I think the way most people have seen it ... it’s pretty open and shut.”

He declined to say what evidence he may present, including whether mental health issues or drugs played a role.

Dodgion said that Myers had been living with his mother, working as a “self-employed auto detailer” as recently as last year.

Asked how Myers’ mother is holding up in light of the charges against her son, Dodgion replied: “Like most parents, she has a genuine concern for her son, especially his mental health.”

Authorities have accused Myers of striking at least three vehicles with bullets — including a UPS truck and a van carrying two members of the Madison High School wrestling team and two coaches who were traveling to Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center — before shooting a Columbus police cruiser and firing at officers. No motorists were injured; a Columbus police officer was taken to a hospital for treatment out of precaution.

Columbus police and the Ohio Highway Patrol said the shooting began around 9:56 a.m. after Myers crashed a 2014 Ford Fusion into a cable median off the west side of I-71 northbound around mile marker 123, north of the East Powell Road overpass and Gemini PLACE/IKEA Way interchange.

According to police, Myers is accused of then getting out of the vehicle, running back and forth across I-71, arguing with a female passenger who also got out of the car, and firing shots at passing motorists on the interstate.

Myers was eventually shot by police and taken to Ohiohealth Grant Medical Center.

The indictment lists the initials of six police officers who were shot at.

Schiffel’s motion to deny Myers bail pointed out that he failed to appear in Franklin County court on previous felony charges after being released on bail.

“There are five pending warrants on him in Franklin County,” Schiffel said previously. “He posted bond in those matters ... and then he failed to appear in court.”

Those five Franklin County Common Pleas Court warrants include:

● Felony charges of possession of cocaine, possession of fentanyl and receiving stolen property from an offense on Nov. 12, 2019.

● A felony charge of failure to comply, fleeing and eluding, on Dec. 12, 2019.

● A felony charge of harassment with a bodily substance on April 30, 2020.

● Felony charges of illegal manufacture of drugs (fentanyl), trafficking in fentanyl (two counts), possession and trafficking of cocaine, and receiving stolen property involving a stolen gun on Sept. 24, 2020.

● A 28-count indictment with multiple charges of trafficking in fentanyl and possession of a weapon while a convicted felon (weapons under disability) on Nov. 11, 2020. The trafficking charges come with a major drug offender specification that, if convicted, would carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 11 years each.

There also is a warrant in Franklin County Municipal Court for Myers’ arrest for a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. He was also arrested for domestic violence in 2020, but that case was dismissed, records indicate. dnarciso@dispatch.com @Deannarciso