(8-30-23) Sunday morning at 2 am Jay County Sheriff’s Deputy Derek M. Bogenschutz (35) Dunkirk, who was driving a Jay County Sheriff patrol vehicle (2021 Dodge Durango), was pursuing a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado along Division Road near the State Line Road. The Silverado driver, David W. Atkinson (30) Winchester during the pursuit backed his vehicle into Bogenschutz’s car and continued to flee and headed north.

The vehicle that Atkinson was driving was registered to Chad J. Timmerman of Portland. Atkinson was driving without a license and was cited with a felony charge for battery.

Atkinson, after the above incident, was involved in a multi-county chase Sunday morning that ended in St. Marys. He is presently being held on $1,000,000 (10%) in the Auglaize County Jail from the Sunday incident and is facing two felony charges…receiving stolen property and failure to comply with order or signal of police officer-elude or flee.

In Indiana-—

Resisting Law Enforcement as a Felony

RLE may be a Level 6 felony if a person who is charged with resisting by flight uses a vehicle to commit the offense, or while committing resist by force or resist by flight, the person draws or uses a deadly weapon, inflicts bodily injury on or otherwise causes bodily injury to another person, or operates a vehicle in a manner that creates a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person.

The offense may be filed as a Level 5 felony if, while resisting law enforcement, the person operates a vehicle in a manner that causes serious bodily injury to another person. It is a Level 3 felony if, while committing the offense, the person operates a vehicle in a manner that causes the death of another person. Finally, it is a Level 2 felony if the person commits resisting law enforcement and the person operates a vehicle in a manner that causes the death of a law enforcement officer while the law enforcement officer is engaged in the officer’s official duties.

Additionally, if a person uses a vehicle to commit RLE as a felony, there may be minimum jail days that must be served, if convicted, and possible license suspensions imposed on top of any criminal penalty.