Lorain man who was focus of March manhunt indicted in Common Pleas Court

A Lorain man who led multiple local, state and federal police agencies on a nine-hour manhunt March 27 is facing additional charges in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. James D. Meadows, 37, was indicted May 30 by a Lorain County grand jury on felony charges of escape, tampering with evidence, assault on a law enforcement officer, cocaine possession and obstruction, and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and obstructing official business, according to court records. He was being held in the Lorain County Jail on $100,000 bond, according to jail records. Court records were not accessible online Thursday, but the case has been assigned to Judge Melissa Kobasher. Authorities tried to arrest Meadows on a warrant March 27 as he was facing charges he had assaulted two Sheffield police officers. Meadows allegedly drove recklessly to avoid arrest, leading officers and deputy marshals on a brief chase before he bailed out of his car and ran into a wooded area along Russia Road. Multiple law enforcement agencies searched the area. After nine hours on the run, Meadows was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service while trying to meet up with his girlfriend in Elyria. Lorain County Sheriff's deputies, State Highway Patrol troopers, Elyria, Oberlin and South Amherst police armed with drones, K-9 teams and aircraft pursued Meadows, whose long criminal history includes numerous drug-related arrests, according to jail and court records.