PARMA, OHIO – Parma Police have arrested four suspects believed to be connected with an incident described below.
Wilson was the driver of the stolen Dodge Durango Hellcat and is being charged with ORC 2921.331 Failure to Comply – Flee or Elude (F-3) and with ORC 2913.51 Receiving Stolen Property (F-4).
Allen and Lymon are both being charged with ORC 2921.31 Obstructing Official Business (F-5) as they were passengers who later fled on foot from officers.
Hernandez was the driver of the black Ford Crown Victoria that arrived in Independence and picked up two of the males (Wilson and Lymon) that previously fled from officers. He is being charged with ORC 2921.32 Obstructing Justice (F-5).
Additional charges may be filed once this case has been presented to the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury.
You can read more about what happened below.
On February 18, 2023, at approximately 8:39 PM, a Parma Police officer was working a Traffic Oriented Patrol (TOP) detail where officers work in areas targeting aggressive driving, drunk driving, and citizens’ complaints of speeding or other traffic violations throughout the city as authorized by Chief Joe Bobak.
The alert officer located a stolen Dodge Durango Hellcat suspected of being involved in many dealership break-ins, thefts, and pursuits, traveling southbound in the 5400 block of State Rd. The vehicle turned eastbound onto Lucerne Ave. when the officer attempted to make a traffic stop on the car, at which time the vehicle fled to Hearthstone Ave. and then northbound on State Rd. Another officer was able to deploy Stop Sticks at State Rd successfully. And Pershing Ave., before the suspects proceeded onto I-480 eastbound. The pursuing officer’s vehicle was disabled after getting a flat tire. Additional officers continued to check the area of I-480 eastbound for the suspect vehicle and eventually located the suspect vehicle parked on the right shoulder of I-480 east near exit 20B. Upon officers approaching the car, three black males fled on foot into the wooded area just south of the highway.
Due to information received that the suspects were armed and extremely dangerous, many other area agencies assisted in locating the suspects. Officers from Parma PD, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Independence PD, Seven Hills PD, Ohio Investigative Unit, Oakwood PD, Brooklyn Heights PD, and Cleveland PD saturated the area and set up a perimeter. K-9 Officers from Independence and Newburgh Heights began to search the area. A Parma officer responded with a drone to assist in the search, and a Parma K-9 also responded to assist in locating the suspects. OSHP’s helicopter was requested and was ultimately deployed as further assistance in locating these subjects.
A Parma officer promptly located one suspect hiding in a heavily wooded ravine where he could guide other officers and K-9s to the subject’s location. That male was taken into custody without incident.
As officers continued to check the area, officers noticed a Ford Crown Victoria in the same area where officers had located the suspect in the woods. Officers conducted a traffic stop and detained three individuals until a Parma officer positively identified two black males as suspects who initially fled the Durango. Their clothing was covered in mud, while the driver of that vehicle was not. The driver and two occupants were taken into custody without incident and transported to Parma Jail. No firearms were recovered at that time.
These types of incidents involving numerous high-end vehicle thefts and pursuits have occurred in the following jurisdictions:
- · Brunswick
- · Mentor
- · Carrol County
- · Willoughby
- · Solon
- · Oakwood
- · Geauga County
- · Painesville Township
- · Akron
- · North Olmsted
- · Strongsville
- · Wickliffe
- · Cleveland
- · Geauga County
- · Lake County
- · Agencies in Michigan & Pennsylvania
We want to thank all the agencies that assisted in locating and apprehending the involved suspects.