Columbus man sentenced in girlfriend’s death in chase

A Columbus man who led Gahanna police on a high-speed chase which resulted in a crash that killed his estranged girlfriend passenger has been sentenced to at least six years in prison.

Here are the latest outcomes of recent Franklin County court cases.

Christopher A. Mccleese II, 40, of Franklinton, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, a seconddegree felony, in connection with the death of Shannon E. Currier, 44, of Gahanna,.

The Franklin County Prosecutor’s office dropped other lesser related charges and specifications. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Kimberly Brown sentenced Mccleese on May 12 to a minimum of six years in prison with a maximum of nine years, depending on his behavior behind bars.

Mccleese will also lose his driving privileges for the rest of his life.

Because Mccleese had an active warrant for alleged felonious assault on Currier five days prior to the day of her death, Gahanna officers were on the lookout for him. Currier had accused Mccleese of choking her into unconsciousness. After a neighbor called the police on the evening of January 8, 2020 to alert them Mccleese was leaving Currier’s home, officers spotted Mccleese, who sped away with Currier as his passenger.

The pursuit lasted about four minutes before Mccleese lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree on Clark State Road near Hannah and Headley parks, killing Currier. When officers arrived at the scene of the crash, Mccleese got out of his car and ran, but officers apprehended him.

Local activist has rioting and trespassing charges dropped

A 2021 case against local activist Ellen Abdur-rahim, who also goes by Hana, was dismissed in Franklin County Municipal Court Wednesday.

The charges against Abdur-rahim of rioting and trespassing were dismissed at the request of the Columbus City Attorney’s office. The charges stemmed from an incident on April 13, 2021 when Abdur-rahim and two others entered Columbus Division of Police headquarters, according to the City Attorney’s office.

“After a thorough review of the entirety of the evidence in this case, the City Attorney’s Office concluded that, even though there was probable cause for the charges, it did not believe it could prove the case against Abdurrahim beyond a reasonable doubt. While others were charged and prosecuted out of this particular incident, this case was dismissed,” a spokesman for the office said.

This is not Abdur-rahim’s first encounter with law enforcement. Last year, the city agreed to pay Abdur-rahim $10,000 to settle a federal civil lawsuit regarding a 2017 protest during which Columbus police peppersprayed her.

The ACLU of Ohio said in the lawsuit Columbus police violated Abdurrahim’s constitutional rights when she was pepper-sprayed in the face by then-officer Justin Masters while already hurt and leaving a peaceful demonstration on Jan. 30, 2017.