Sheriff: Ohio man assaults Walmart employee, steals over $3,000 in merchandise, and leads police on chase across state lines

FRENCHTOWN TOWNSHIP (WWJ) An Ohio man was arrested for allegedly assaulting a Walmart employee while robbing the store and leading police on an over 10 mile chase across multiple Monroe County communities and state lines.

In a press release; the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said they received a report of an unarmed robbery at the Walmart in Monroe, on Telegraph at La Salle, on Friday (9/20) around 10:50 p.m. The suspect allegedly stole $3,000 in store merchandise, and when staff confronted him, he began assaulting one of the employees. He ran from the store with the stolen merchandise and entered the passenger door of a silver Ford Edge.

The vehicle fled north on Telegraph. About a half a mile away from the store; Monroe County Sheriff Deputy Trevor Tomkinson tried to conduct a traffic stop on the Ford Edge at Custer Road, the sheriff’s office said.

The suspect traveled “at high rates of speed” through Monroe, La Salle, Erie and Bedford Townships. At S. Telegraph and Sterns Road, about 13 miles from the Walmart, deputies deployed stop-sticks. The stop-sticks deflated the vehicle's tires, according to the sheriff’s office.

The vehicle still continued across state lines another three or so miles, into Toledo, Ohio— stopping at the intersection of Telegraph and Detroit Ave. Deputies arrested the suspect, 36, and the woman driving the Ford Edge, 39, both from Toledo.

Both are being held at Lucas County Jail on “multiple criminal charges,” the sheriff’s office said.

No information was released on the relationship between the two suspects. The sheriff’s office also did not say how badly the Walmart employee was injured in the initial assault.

Their names are being withheld pending formal charges in both Monroe and Toledo. The Toledo Police Department assisted with the arrests.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (734) 240-7714.