Lorain man with 4 open felony cases charged over June chase with Elyria cops

A Lorain man with four open felony cases in Lorain County Common Pleas Court is now facing a fifth for a wrong-way chase on state Route 2 in June in which he allegedly fled police, collided head-on with another car and injured another motorist. Terrence Jackson, 38, was indicted Friday on two counts of having weapons under disability and one count each of failure to comply, vehicular assault and improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle, all felonies, and a misdemeanor charge of driving under suspension. The felony charges all carry firearms specifications because Jackson reportedly was armed with a Glock handgun at the time of the alleged crimes, according to the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office. Attorney Mike Stepanik confirmed Wednesday he is representing Jackson on the new charges, but didn't comment further by deadline. The case, like multiple others Jackson is facing, is assigned to Judge Raymond Ewers. Jackson was being held in the Lorain County Jail on $630,000 bond total in the new case plus three others, according to jail records. He also was being held without bond in a 2024 criminal case in which he is accused of stabbing another man in Lorain, according to court records. Chase charges Route 2 was shut down for more than two hours June 26 after Elyria police tried to stop Jackson's black 2014 Jeep on Lake Avenue. Jackson had a felony warrant out for his arrest, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Chris Pierre said, and also was a suspect in more than one recent drive-by shooting. Jackson pulled over, but as two Elyria police vehicles closed in around him, he allegedly fled the traffic stop. Driving "erratically," he allegedly went the wrong way on Route 2, westbound in the eastbound lanes, Elyria police said in a news release that same day. Near the North Ridge Road overpass, Jackson hit another car head-on, and he and the gun were ejected from the Jeep, according to Pierre and Elyria police. An elderly motorist in the other vehicle suffered serious injuries in the crash, Pierre said. Elyria police said four vehicles were damaged in the crash and a total of three people were transported from the site of the wreck to University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center. The gun recovered by Elyria police was consistent with evidence collected in one of the shootings they were investigating at the time, according to the news release. A message seeking further comment on the status of the shooting investigation was left Wednesday for an Elyria police spokesman. The Lorain County Sheriff's Office and Elyria Township Fire Department assisted Elyria police. The State Highway Patrol was investigating the crash. Stabbing case A grand jury indicted Jackson in October 2024 on two counts of felonious assault, both felonies, for the July 6, 2024, stabbing of a 37-year-old man in Lorain, the county Prosecutor's Office said. Jackson pleaded not guilty to stabbing the alleged victim with a knife, and was free on a personal bond set in Lorain Municipal Court at the time of the June 26 chase and crash. Prosecutors immediately asked the court to revoke Jackson's bond, according to court records. Visiting Judge William McGinty, who was sitting in for Ewers on Aug. 6, set $10,000 cash/surety bonds on each of the other three cases and revoked Jackson's bond in the stabbing case. Finding "by clear and convincing evidence" that Jackson "poses a substantial risk of serious physical harm to the community, and no release conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community," McGinty ordered Jackson held in the Lorain County Jail without bond in the stabbing case. A pretrial hearing is set Sept. 3, according to court records. Other charges Jackson also has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in three other felony criminal cases. According to court records, he was being held on $10,000 cash/surety bond in each of the following cases: - an October 2024 case charging Jackson with tampering with evidence, possession of a fentanyl-related compound and possession of cocaine, all felonies. - an April 2024 case charging him with trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine and possession of criminal tools, all felonies, as well as driving under suspension, a misdemeanor. - a November 2023 case charging Jackson with two counts of felony DUI and one count of driving under suspension, a misdemeanor. With five eligible convictions on his criminal record in the last 20 years — two in 2012 and one each in 2015, 2017 and 2019 — Jackson is on Ohio's habitual DUI offender registry. His driver's license is suspended for life as a result of at least one of those convictions, according to court records. Jackson also has prior felony convictions in Lorain County for domestic violence and violating a protection order in 2019, three counts of trafficking in cocaine in 2017 and attempted aggravated assault in 2015, according to court records Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.