A man and a woman have been arrested following a pursuit that went through Allen and Auglaize counties.
The Allen County Sheriff's Office states that at approximately 12:19 PM Tuesday, deputies attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a vehicle on I-75 near mile marker 122. The stop was in connection to a previous report of a stolen white van.
The vehicle proceeded to drive off at high speeds. The Allen County Sheriff's Office then activated the pursuit into Auglaize County.
"Did go into the city of Wapakoneta, did travel through our fairgrounds... there is still damage along that way that we are looking at," said Mike Vorhees, Auglaize County Sheriff.
The severity of the pursuit then escalated. According to Vorhees, the driver of the stolen vehicle called 911, informing them that he had a firearm.
"He was threatening officers and also threatening the person in the van with him," said Vorhees. "For public safety, we were concerned for everyone involved, that's why we continued with the pursuit."
The pursuit then ended after marked and unmarked law enforcement vehicles cornered the white van in a field behind General Aluminum in Wapakoneta. The driver and passenger were then arrested and taken into custody.
Two Auglaize County Sheriff Deputies sustained minor injuries during the over-hour-long pursuit. One was transported to a hospital in Lima.
Previous scanner traffic stated that the driver was throwing items out of the van during the pursuit.
"Don't know what those things were, we don't know what items they were," said Vorhees. "This does look like some type of work van, so we do not know if that was associated with that. The investigation is very early at this point so we are still looking into things."
The two individuals will be booked into the Allen County Jail.
The Allen County Sheriff's Office, Auglaize County Sheriff's Office, Wapakoneta Police, Cridersville Police, Waynesfield Police, and the Ohio Highway Patrol all responded during the pursuit.
No further information on the pursuit is available at this time.
