WHITEHALL, Ohio — A man was arrested Sunday morning after allegedly driving a stolen truck into a Whitehall home during a police chase.
According to the Whitehall Division of Police, eight people were inside the home when the truck slammed into the back of their house, leaving a gaping hole. No one was injured.
“Our Flock alert cameras alerted around 9 o'clock in the morning that we had a stolen truck coming into the city. Our officers had responded to the area and began looking for it and it pulled up right behind one of our cruisers,” said Sgt. Jon Earl.
Police dash and body worn camera footage shows the truck as it drives between the cruisers and through a parking lot before crashing into the home.
“This could have been deadly for the people in the house that were just sitting in their own living room and a truck drove into the back of the house,” Earl said.
The suspect, identified by police as 37-year-old Timothy Sharp, took off running after the crash. Whitehall, Gahanna and Bexley police later caught up to him and took him into custody.
“All these stolen cars we deal with every day out here on the streets, as I always say, they are out committing other crimes,” Earl said.
All of this started as a Flock camera hit on the stolen car.
Prior to the license plate reading cameras, Whitehall police say they responded to about 100 stolen car reports a year. So far this year, they have responded to 384 stolen car reports with the help of the cameras.
“They have been unbelievably successful. We are getting them almost daily. Sometimes we are getting 4-5 a day,” Earl said of stolen car reports.
Sharp is charged with receiving stolen property.