DELAWARE, Ohio — A Columbus man will spend two years on probation in a case that started with shots fired on Interstate 71 and ended with a 104mph chase.
It happened the evening of September 1, 2022. Several people called 911 to report a car on the side of 71 with its flashers on, and people firing a gun into the woods.
A Delaware County deputy responded to the calls and found the vehicle, approaching with overhead lights on.
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“Due to the nature of the call I did not pull all the way up to the vehicle and was roughly 200 ft away. I turned my rear overhead lights on to notify traffic behind me that I was slowing down,” the deputy said in a report. “I observed an individual outside the passenger side of the car who noticed my light reflection on the roadway. I activated my front overhead lights and spotlight at which time the passenger entered the passenger seat and closed the door.”
The deputy said the vehicle stayed still as he approached, but when he was about 75 feet away, the driver took off.
“I activated my siren immediately and sped up to 85 MPH and continued to speed up from there. Speeds reached a total of 104 MPH before the car slowed down.”
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It was nearly three miles before the car slowed to a stop, according to the report.
A search of the car revealed an ATI Milsport 300 Blackout AR-15 pistol with a red dot sight, along with multiple rounds of ammunition and magazines. Deputies found 25 spent shell casings along the highway where the vehicle was originally spotted by deputies.
An AR-15 pistol is a handgun built on an AR-15 rifle platform, but without a traditional shoulder stock. They also typically shorter than an AR-15 rifle
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Two people were taken into custody and charged.
The driver, 21-year-old Joelle Cooper was charged with improperly furnishing firearms to a minor, improper handline of a firearm in a motor vehicle, failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer and discharge of a firearm on or near a prohibited premises. He pleaded guilty to charges 1, 3 and 4.
On January 13, 2023, he was sentenced to two years of community control and a one-year driver’s license suspension.
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The passenger, 20-year-old Jon Gardner, faces the same charges. His case is scheduled for trial on March 7.