Chase at Day's Dam in May 2022 sends Elyria man to prison

An Elyria man who fled from Lorain County Metro Parks rangers but was caught after his SUV flipped over during a chase is now serving a three-year prison sentence. Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Miraldi sentenced 42-year-old Jonathan Johnson to three years in prison on Jan. 12. Johnson had pleaded guilty to seven felonies and one misdemeanor. The charges in his amended plea were attempted aggravated vehicular assault, having weapons under disability, carrying a concealed weapon, improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle, obstructing official business, possession of cocaine and possession of drugs, all felonies, and resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. Firearms and firearms forfeiture specifications also were included. Miraldi gave Johnson 18 months in prison on the attempted aggravated vehicular assault charge plus another 18 months, consecutive and mandatory, on a firearms specification according to court records. Other sentences from six to 18 months in prison on six of the other felony charges were ordered to run concurrent to that sentence and concurrent to a two-year prison sentence Johnson also is serving on a probation violation, according to court records. Johnson received credit for 246 days already served in jail awaiting trial, according to court records. Johnson was initially charged with felonious assault, having weapons under disability, carrying a concealed weapon, improper handling of a firearm, obstruction, cocaine possession, drug possession and resisting arrest by a Lorain County grand jury in July 2022. He pleaded not guilty. A trial had been scheduled to begin today. The chase Metro Parks rangers tried to speak with Johnson at Day's Dam in the Black River Reservation in Lorain after they saw a gun on the passenger seat of his SUV on May 12, 2022. Johnson drove off with the rangers in pursuit, and one of them rammed his SUV, causing Johnson's SUV to roll over onto its passenger side. Johnson got out and ran, but was quickly captured. He was treated for a leg injury before being taken to the Lorain County Jail. A Chronicle-Telegram photographer saw a semi-automatic handgun, loose ammunition and what appeared to be a digital scale on the ground outside Johnson's flipped SUV while taking photos at the scene. An eyewitness who captured part of the chase on video described the scene as being like one out of an action movie. Johnson was on probation at the time on a felony robbery conviction in Judge Mark Betleski's court, and was wanted on a warrant for failing to appear in court in April 2022 to answer for an alleged probation violation. Betleski revoked Johnson's probation in May 2022 and sentence him to two years in prison with 99 days credit for time served, according to court records. Johnson's is serving his sentence in the Richland Correctional Institution, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. His earliest release date is May 9, 2025, according to the ODRC.Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.