Suspect in multi-county chase reportedly found with minors at hotel

MIAMISBURG, Ohio ( WDTN ) — New developments in Friday’s multi-county chase that ended in a standoff on a Miamisburg bridge explain why police were looking for the suspect in the first place.

Johnathan Brown, 32, faces five felony charges connected to last week’s chase, crash and standoff. He’s also accused of meeting with a minor at a hotel earlier that morning.

A press release from Butler Township’s chief of police explained that hours before the chase began, Brown was under surveillance by police units.

At 10 a.m., Butler Township authorities received a tip that Brown was at a hotel in the area with a minor who had previously been reported missing.

While officers were surveilling the hotel, they say Brown and the minor left the building. That’s when authorities moved in. The minor was taken into protective custody. When officers tried to question Brown, he allegedly fled in a stolen truck.

After searching the hotel, police found a second minor and took them into custody as well.

Further investigation found that the truck Brown left in was reported missing to the Hamilton Police Department.

Just before 2 p.m., Brown was once again spotted — this time, in the truck heading south on Interstate 75 just outside of Springboro.

Franklin police tried to stop the vehicle, and said that’s when Brown led them on a high-speed chase across county lines.

Newly released dashboard camera footage shows the start of the chase, which ultimately ended in Miamisburg when Brown crashed into a train on Linden Avenue.

Authorities said Brown refused to come out of the car following the crash, so law enforcement shut down the bridge and spent hours trying to get him out.

The City of Miamisburg has shut down the Linden Avenue bridge until further notice.

Officers eventually arrested Brown. He’s currently being held in the Warren County jail on a $500,000 cash-only bond.

Warren County prosecutors are charging Brown with felonious assault, and the Montgomery County prosecutor also expects to file felony-level charges.

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