Manchester schools placed on lockdown during hunt –
Story by Patricia Beech –
Photos by Patricia Beech and Mark Carpenter –
Grand theft auto and armed robbery suspect, Todd Raymond Keith, 37, was captured late Friday night following a six-hour manhunt that involved nearly 100 law enforcement officials and the closing of bridge traffic between Ohio and Kentucky for several hours.
Driving a black 2010 Lexus, allegedly stolen at gun point from a woman in Madison Heights, Michigan, the suspect led law enforcement on a high-speed chase Friday afternoon through Adams and Brown counties. Numerous reports were given of a vehicle traveling at high speeds narrowly missing drivers here in Adams county.
Manchester schools were put on lock-down during the pursuit to keep bus traffic off the roadways according to Adams County Sheriff Kimmy Rogers. “My concern with the buses wasn’t about him shooting at kids,” said Rogers. “I didn’t want buses on the roads with a high-speed pursuit going on.” Bus drivers already on their evening routes returned the students to the school where they remained until the suspect fled his vehicle on foot.
Sheriff Rogers confirmed that the suspect fired shots at two Adams County probation officers – Austin Fraley and Seth Sparks: “They tried to stop him, and he stuck the gun out the window and fired two or three shots at them.”
Law enforcement was warned that the suspect had acquired 90 rounds of 9 mm ammunition and was allegedly determined not to be taken alive. All of Adams County’s deputies were involved in the manhunt and pursuit of the suspect.
A six-hour manhunt ensued after Keith abandoned his vehicle in Aberdeen on Flaugher Hill Road, which is right behind the Town and Country bowling alley.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Keith was armed and wearing full body armor when he was taken into custody at 10:16 p.m. Friday night in a creek bed near Aberdeen.
Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that he is a prime suspect in several armed robberies in Michigan and Ohio.
After being taken to the Ripley Middle School in Aberdeen, which the FBI and other law enforcement used as a command center during the manhunt, Keith was examined for injuries and then transported to the Hamilton County Jail by FBI agents.