WHITEHALL, Ohio — Just as the Columbus School for Girls in Bexley was releasing at the end of school day Monday, a 15-year-old slammed a stolen Jeep into a tree across the street.
“There had been sightings of him throughout Columbus. Columbus police had interacted with him, tried to stop him. He was engaging in police pursuits almost like it was a game or something,” said Whitehall Lt. Brian Smith.
Whitehall police say the teenager stole the Jeep and took several agencies on a chase Monday. He slammed into a couple of unmarked police cars, but even that did not slow him down.
“In this particular case, he crashed into a detective's vehicle, however at the time he really had no idea this was a police officer. There was no second thought in his mind. He was just going to crash into this car and drive away and it was just going to be a fun experience for him,” Smith said.
He crashed the stolen SUV and took off running. It didn't take long for Bexley police and Whitehall officers to catch him.
“We evaluate these chases. We make very conscience decisions on whether or not it is worth chasing. In this particular case, based on what we knew, we had an obligation to ensure the safety of the public and apprehend him,” Smith said
Whitehall police had extra officers out on patrol Monday as a part of a crime blitz focused on shoplifting ahead of the busy holiday shopping season.
“This is not theft to put food on the table. This organized crime is what we are seeing a lot more in the last several years. What we are seeing is someone who comes to Whitehall to steal, goes all over central Ohio and visits various stores and steals as much as they can to resell or make some kind of profit,” Smith said.
In total, Whitehall made 32 arrests including two people for stolen vehicles. They recovered 1 gun, drugs and recovered $1,500 in stolen merchandise.
“The theft just leads us to other crimes that we focus on, it's not just theft-related issues,” Smith said.