Break-In At Mentor Gun Store; Police Looking For 4th Suspect

MENTOR, OH — Police were led on a violent, multi-car chase after four people reportedly broke into the Silverado Firearms store on early Monday morning. The suspects fled, but not before allegedly trying to hit officers with their car, prompting police to fire at the vehicle. One suspect was captured after a head-on car crash near Columbia Station.

At 5 a.m., police were sent to Silverado for reports of a break-in in progress. When officers arrived they saw a man running out of the front of the store, toward an alley that leads to the rear of the building. At the same, a vehicle drove from behind the building, refused to stop when officers waved it down, and then began driving at the police.

Two of the officers fired at the car as it hurtled toward them, police said. The driver then bailed out of the car and ran off. The passenger in the car slid into the driver's seat and roared off, going north on Center Street.

Police chased the vehicle onto SR-2 east. The vehicle made it a short distance before it went off the side of the road, down an embankment, and through the right of way fence. The car finally stopped in the parking lot of a business on Tyler Boulevard. One of the people in the car then jumped out and stole a vehicle from a medical facility across the street.

Mentor Police broadcast a description of the newly stolen car, which was quickly located by Willowick and Wickliffe officers. The stolen car was chased into the North Ridgeville area. Then the Ohio State Highway Patrol took over the pursuit.

The chase ended in Columbia Station when the stolen car crashed, head-on, with a civilian vehicle. The driver of the stolen car was taken to Cleveland Metro Health, Mentor Police said.

The driver who jumped out of the car at Silverado later turned himself in. He is a 15-year-old Cleveland man. Mentor officers were then able to locate another suspect walking in the area of Tyler Boulevard and Hopkins Road. After determining that suspect was also involved in the break-in, police learned he had an injury to the side of his head. He was taken to Hillcrest Hospital.

Police are looking for a fourth man that is believed to be involved in the break-in. His photo was captured by a nearby fast food restaurant and was released by police (the image can be seen at the top of this article.)

Mentor Police continue to investigate the incident. It has not yet been determined if anything is missing from Silverado Firearms.

No police were hurt during this incident.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

Photos from Mentor Police