Dayton saw another stride in its fight against violent crime on February 12th as nine individuals were brought into custody through a collaboration involving the Dayton Police Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol, as part of a larger initiative tackling these critical issues across the state. Governor DeWine’s office confirms the arrests are linked to ongoing efforts to curb violent activity, particularly those involving drugs and illegal firearms, with three such weapons and a stolen vehicle seized during the operation.
During the intervention on Gettysburg Avenue, a drug-related shakedown led to a vehicle chase when Brandy Strickland, 29, refused to cooperate with law enforcement officials, igniting the chase that resulted in her arrest facing charges including felony assault and failure to comply. This operation also brought to light eight grams of methamphetamine and established that the vehicle involved was reported stolen. Another highlight was the arrest of 44-year-old Shane Lunsford, who, after being tracked from above by the OSHP’s Aviation Unit, saw his evasion attempts fall flat ending in his running into the woods and subsequent apprehension on a failure to comply felony charge.
In a separate incident from last night’s operation, an OSHP trooper tried to initiate a traffic stop after observing a driver commit a traffic violation, but the driver of the truck failed to pull over. The remainder of those arrested is charged with various offenses, including drug trafficking and illegal weapons possession. Providing backup in the operation, the R.A.N.G.E Task Force was on board as part of the comprehensive approach to these operations…