A multi-month investigation into home burglaries in Ripley, Dearborn , Ohio and Decatur counties led to the arrest of two men last week.
Dakota Fraley, 20, and Chad Sumler, 24, were apprehended after a high-speed pursuit that reached speeds in excess of 100mph and involved an officer firing shots at the suspect vehicle.
According to court documents filed in Dearborn County Circuit Court, the suspects have been charged with Burglary (class B felony), Theft (class D felony) and Conspiracy to Commit Burglary (class B felony).
Detectives say Fraley emerged as a suspect in several burglaries that occurred over the past couple months. Police were conducting surveillance on him when he allegedly burglarized a home on Walters Road in Sunman last Wednesday.
Police followed the black dodge pickup truck Fraley and Sumler were occupying to Weisberg Road. Authorities attempted to surround the vehicle when the suspect truck allegedly struck a Ripley County Sheriff’s Office Detective. It led to an officer firing shots as the truck sped away.
That pursuit continued to Blue Creek Road in Franklin County, where the truck was parked down a lane. The suspects allegedly fled the vehicle and were later taken into custody.
Police say they recovered multiple items from the truck including jewelry, gift cards and prescription bottles from the home on Walters Road.
According to the probable cause, Sumler told police he had no connection to the previous burglaries and joined Fraley last Wednesday for what he thought was collecting scrap metal. He stated it was the one and only time he had committed an offence like this, police said.
