LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — A Lima man is in custody after a police chase that began in Allen County and ended in Auglaize County.
Johnathon Herder, 46, is booked in the Allen County Jail on the charge of failure to comply with a police officer.
According to the Allen County Sheriff’s Office, the chase started just after 1 a.m. when a deputy tried to pull Herder over on North Baxter Street in Lima for a traffic violation, but he took off.
During the chase near the intersection of Metcalf Street and Robb Avenue, Herder swerved to allegedly try and hit a deputy that was deploying stop sticks, but missed him.
The chase continued into the countryside. Troopers joined the pursuit and successfully deployed stop sticks on North Defiance Trail. After Herder hit the stop sticks, he continued into Auglaize County and eventually came to a stop in the 14000 block of Moulton–New Knoxville Road, where he was taken into custody after initially resisting arrest.
Deputies later found that Herder had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. The incident remains under investigation.
Media Release from the Allen County Sheriff’s Office
On September 24, 2025 at approximately 1:10AM an Allen County Sheriff’s Office deputy initiated a routine traffic stop on North Baxter Street in Lima, Ohio. The driver failed to comply and began to flee. A vehicle pursuit ensued throughout Lima, with the driver continuously ignoring law-enforcement commands to stop.
Near the intersection of Metcalf and Robb the driver intentionally swerved and accelerated at a high rate of speed towards a deputy deploying stop sticks. The driver was not successful in striking the deputy.
Stop sticks were deployed again on North Defiance Trail by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The driver did run over the stops sticks but still did not stop and continued into Auglaize County where are the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office also joined the pursuit.
At approximately 1:50 AM, after striking another set of stop sticks, the vehicle eventually came to a stop at the 14000 block of Moulton-New Knoxville Road in Auglaize County. The suspect remained noncompliant for a short time, but then was taken into custody without further incident.
The driver was identified as Johnathon Herder (DOB 12/04/1978) of Lima. He has been booked into the Allen County Jail on a charge of failure to comply with order of a police officer. It was also discovered that Mr. Herder had a warrant for his arrest.
This incident remains under investigation.
