A man who was wanted in connection to a police pursuit that involved two carjackings and the kidnapping of two children is in the Montgomery County Jail, three days after police attempted to stop the suspect’s blue Kia Niro, reportedly driving at high speed on Interstate 75, according to the Journal-News.
RELATED: Police pursuit leads to kidnapping, double carjacking in Warren County
Bryon Finklea, Jr., 24, of Dayton, is being held on initial misdemeanor charges of obstructing official business and domestic violence, along with out-of-county warrants. According to jail records, he was arrested at 9:30 a.m. Monday at a house in Dayton.
Police are holding Finklea in the Montgomery County Jail on charges unrelated to the pursuit. Officials said he will be transferred to the Warren County Jail to face kidnapping, robbery and fleeing and eluding charges once he faces his charges in Montgomery County.
Police were looking for Finklea after a pursuit which started Saturday at about 11:30 a.m. on southbound I-75 near Franklin Township. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, a pilot saw Finklea’s vehicle driving around 100 mph and alerted officers. When troopers tried to stop the vehicle, it fled.
From there, police said, Finklea exited the highway in Monroe near state Route 63, letting a passenger out of the vehicle in a Kroger parking lot. He then continued east on Route 63 before the car became disabled in Turtle Creek Township.
According to OSHP, Finklea then exited his vehicle and carjacked a Chevrolet Malibu, which had two children in the back seat. He then drove off with the children still inside, they said.
The children were let out of the vehicle separately in the cities of Lebanon and Mason, where they were secured by police.
The pursuit then continued south into West Chester Township, where OSHP said Finklea crashed into another vehicle, got out of the Malibu, and carjacked a Ford Edge driven by a 16-year-old.
After the Edge fled the scene and went north on I-75, law enforcement said they called off the pursuit due to its speed and the amount of traffic. The stolen SUV was later found in a Dayton neighborhood.
