New felony charges for Amherst man following July 30 chase into Westlake

An Amherst man who led multiple police agencies on a chase July 30 that ended in a standoff in Westlake is facing new charges. Richard Roule Sr., 32, of Deepwood Lane, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court to one count each of aggravated burglary, burglary, abduction and theft and two counts of failure to comply, all felonies, as well as one count each of assault and theft, both misdemeanors, from a Sept. 19 indictment. The case is assigned to Judge Raymond Ewers. The charges also allege Roule is a repeat violent offender, with a 2016 conviction for felonious assault also in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. Roule was being held on $355,000 bond in the Lorain County Jail. A message seeking comment on the new charges was left for his attorney, Mike Stepanik. According to the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office, the incident started with a disturbance at the residence of Roule's ex-girlfriend on Nichols Street in Lorain. Chief Assistant Prosecutor Chris Pierre said Roule, who already had a warrant out for his arrest, stole the ex-girlfriend's black Nissan sedan before county Sheriff's deputies got to the house. Roule fled a traffic stop and drove 90 mph on West 21st Street in Lorain to try and escape deputies, Pierre said. Another deputy interviewed Roule's ex-girlfriend, who said he showed up at her house around 2 a.m. that morning, forced his way inside and took her car. Pierre said the woman asked Roule to bring the car back and went to sleep. She woke up the next morning to find Roule inside her house again, and the former couple argued with Roule preventing the woman from leaving, Pierre said. Roule allegedly pushed the woman and held her down, he said. She got free and a neighbor called police, Pierre said. Roule took her phone and car and fled. Lorain County Sheriff's deputies, Avon, Westlake and Rocky River police officers chased Roule down Interstate 90 headed east, before he got off the highway and stopped on Clemens Road in Westlake. There, he allegedly smoked methamphetamine and held what turned out to be a power drill to his head like it was a gun, threatening suicide while area SWAT teams surrounded him.Released by his handler, Westlake police K-9 Timmy bit Roule on the arm, ending the standoff. Roule was taken into custody, treated for a dog bite and charged by Westlake police with failure to comply and inducing panic, both misdemeanors. The new indictment is Roule's fourth in the last two years in Lorain County. He was charged in June with having weapons under disability, aggravated possession of drugs and possession of cocaine in another case, and trafficking a fentanyl-related compound, possession of a fentanyl-related compound, trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine and possession of criminal tools, all felonies, in a case in March. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com