Nine arrested as part of Dayton, Ohio, violent crime reduction operation

Authorities made nine felony arrests, confiscated three illegally possessed firearms, and recovered a stolen vehicle as part of a violent crime reduction operation led in partnership between the Dayton Police Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The Feb. 12 multi-agency operation was conducted as part of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s Violent Crime Reduction Initiative, which partners state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies on strategic and data-driven operations to identify and arrest repeat offenders responsible for the majority of violent crime in their communities.

At about 9:25 p.m., officers and troopers observed suspicious drug-related activity between two vehicles at a gas station on Gettysburg Avenue. Dayton police activated their emergency overhead lights to stop one of the vehicles, but the driver, identified as Brandy Strickland, 29, failed to stop and fled the area.

Officers said they successfully deployed a tire deflation device, but Strickland continued to flee and struck both an unmarked police vehicle and a utility pole. Shortly thereafter, Strickland was taken into custody on multiple charges, including felony assault on a peace officer and failure to comply.

Officers located eight grams of methamphetamine in the vehicle and later determined that the vehicle was stolen.

In a separate incident, an OSHP trooper attempted to initiate a traffic stop after observing a truck driver commit a traffic violation, but the driver failed to pull over.

The OSHP’s Aviation Unit began following the vehicle from the air, allowing ground units to terminate the pursuit. The driver left the main road and entered the woods, eventually stopping at a dead end. The driver, identified as Shane Lunsford, 44, fled on foot before being taken into custody on a felony charge of failure to comply.

Others arrested as part of last night’s violent crime reduction operation were taken into custody on charges including drug trafficking, carrying a concealed weapon, improperly handling a firearm, and having weapons under disability.