HANCOCK COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - One of the men charged following the death of Bluffton Police Officer Dominic Francis pleaded guilty to charges in Hancock County.
19-year-old Dante Tate pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and complicity to receiving stolen property and he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Other charges he was facing were dropped as part of the plea deal.
Tate was in the car allegedly driven by Emin Johnson that hit Officer Francis while he was trying to deploy stop sticks on I-75 during a police chase. Tate was sentenced last year in Medina County to two years in prison for charges he faced for stealing a car from the Bluffton area and driving it to that county when they were on the run from law enforcement following Francis' death.
Emin Johnson is facing involuntary manslaughter and aggravated vehicular homicide and has his trial set for April. Zachary Love, who was also in the car and faced similar charges as Tate, has his trial scheduled for next month.
