(5-9-26) Three teens were booked by the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office on misdemeanor charges of (2nd degree) obstructing justice and offenses involving underage individuals. (1st degree).

All three are being held on $10,000 bail.

Update-

JAY COUNTY / MERCER COUNTY, OHIO | Vehicle Pursuit Ends in Multi-State Apprehension — K9 Spyke Credited

850 East and State Line Road, Jay County | Saturday, May 9 · ~1:00 AM

A vehicle pursuit near the Indiana-Ohio state line early Saturday morning led to a multi-agency foot search involving a K9 unit, drone, and officers from multiple counties before three suspects were apprehended across the state line in Mercer County, Ohio.

A vehicle crashed near 2 North and 8 East in Jay County shortly after 1:00 AM, with several occupants fleeing on foot into nearby fields and wooded areas. Jay County Sheriff’s deputies initiated a K9 track from the wrecked vehicle.

The first suspect was located in a field west of the crash site and taken into custody at gunpoint around 1:11 AM. That suspect told deputies there were approximately seven to eight people in the vehicle.

A drone was deployed around 1:35 AM, detecting heat signatures in the woods south of the crash. The drone operator guided ground units directly to two additional suspects laying in a field, who were also taken at gunpoint.

The Portland Police Department confirmed in a press release that K9 Spyke was deployed and assisted in the apprehension and location of three of the fleeing suspects. The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio also assisted in the incident.

Three individuals were subsequently charged in Mercer County, Ohio:
Isaac Curtis Homan, 19
Wayne Thomas Hemmelgarn, 18
Jasper Linus Hartzell, 19

All three face charges of Obstructing Justice, a second-degree misdemeanor, and Offenses Involving Minors, a first-degree misdemeanor. Each was held on a $10,000 bond.