Cruiser hit, suspects flee

Two Highland County men in an allegedly stolen vehicle that reportedly struck a police cruiser have been arrested following a pursuit by law enforcement earlier this week.

Highland County Sheriff Donnie Barrera reported in a news release that on Tuesday, detectives with the sheriff’s office were doing surveillance on a possibly stolen vehicle and observed the vehicle in question leave a residence in the 10000 block of SR 28. The detectives followed the vehicle and were waiting on other deputies to arrive before making a traffic stop on the truck.

According to Barrera, at approximately 5:54 p.m., a deputy told a dispatcher that he was in a pursuit with the vehicle. The vehicle traveled off of the roadway into a yard, spun out, and when it came back onto the roadway struck the deputy’s vehicle, causing the deputy’s vehicle to travel off the roadway and get stuck in a ditch.

Deputies from Fayette County and officers from the Greenfield Police Department continued chasing the vehicle, Barrera reported. The truck allegedly went through several yards and eventually got stuck in a bean field. At that point, the male passenger exited the vehicle and fled on foot. Greenfield Police Chief Jeremiah Oyer then got into an altercation with the driver of the vehicle. The driver, identified as Richard Penn, 44, Leesburg, was taken into custody by Oyer and deputies from the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, according to reports.

The passenger, identified as Andy Munyon, 33, Greenfield, who had fled on foot was taken into custody with the help of the Highland County K-9 Officer and K-9 unit, Barrera said.

Barrera reported that the GMC truck that the two subjects were in was identified as a stolen vehicle from Ross County.

Penn was charged with felony counts of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and receiving stolen property.

Munyon was charged with felony receiving stolen property and a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

Both men have been arraigned in Hillsboro Municipal Court. Court records show each is set for a preliminary hearing in the municipal court on Jan. 26. According to the county’s jail site, Penn was being held on a $25,000 bond and Munyon on a $5,000 bond.

Penn currently has a case in the Highland County Common Pleas Court. He was indicted in December on felony counts of marijuana cultivation and possession. He was allowed an OR (own recognizance) only bond when he was arraigned on the charges in December. Records show an extensive criminal history with the court, though the most recent case prior to the December indictment was more than a decade ago.

For further information or clarification, contact Sheriff Donnie Barrera at the Highland County Sheriff’s Office: 937-393-1421.

Penn
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2017/01/web1_RichardPenn.jpgPenn

Munyon
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2017/01/web1_AndyMunyon.jpgMunyon
Suspects were allegedly in stolen vehicle

The Times-Gazette