A dangerous situation that began in Scioto County on Friday afternoon ended later in Adams County. On Friday, January 5th, the Scioto County Emergency Communications Center received a call regarding an attempted break-in on Houston Hollow Road. After the two males attempted to break in, they were confronted and fled on foot.
Over an hour later, the communications center received a call at 2:32 p.m. from a male victim, who was sitting in his locked vehicle near the Scioto County Career and Technical Center when one of the suspects, approached his passenger window with a firearm. The fugitive demanded that the victim get out of the truck and when he refused, the suspect shot through the passenger window, nearly hitting him in the face with a bullet. The victim then exited his truck and the suspect then stole the vehicle and headed toward the school.
The school resource officer assigned to the facility heard the shot and then observed the truck with a shattered window and immediately initiated a stop, however, the suspect refused.
According to the Scioto County Sheriff, the suspect headed south on US Route 23 toward Portsmouth, nearly causing several accidents. The suspect evaded stop sticks set up by State Troopers and continued into Portsmouth traveling around 120 mph. The suspect then headed west onto US Route 52 reaching speeds of nearly 140 mph.
Eventually, the suspect made his way into Adams County. As he was traveling headed into Manchester, he wrecked into a ditch causing damage to the truck but was able to get back on the roadway and continue westbound.
Deputies from the Adams County Sheriff’s Department deployed stop sticks just outside of Manchester, towards Aberdeen. The suspect avoided those stop sticks but then crashed into a guardrail at 3:08 p.m. After the crash, the suspect refused to exit the vehicle and had to be removed. He then resisted and tried to bite the hand of a deputy.
The suspect has been identified as Christopher Peake, Sr. age 40 of Cincinnati. He was taken to Southern Ohio Medical Center by Adams County EMS and is now being housed in the Scioto County Jail. Peake faces 15 charges stemming from the day.
The Scioto County Sheriff, David Thoroughman thanked neighboring law enforcement agencies for their assistance, including the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Portsmouth Police, Adams County Sheriff’s Department, and the Winchester Police Department.
