No criminal charges for 2 Middletown officers who killed man during traffic stop

MIDDLETOWN — Two Middletown police officers who shot and killed a man during a traffic stop in a Walmart parking lot earlier this year will not face any criminal charges, according to prosecutors.

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Victor Lee Lykins, 47, was killed in the February 25 shooting during a traffic stop at the Towne Boulevard Walmart location. The actions of the two Middletown officers, formally identified Friday as Officer Johnathan Hilgendorf and Officer Austin Renner, were determined as “objectively reasonable” following a review of the case by Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell.

“Therefore, our office will not be presenting this matter to the Warren County grand jury and this investigation will be considered closed,” Fornshell said in a media release issues Friday morning.

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Lykins was the passenger in a Jeep that was stopped by Hilgendorf for making an improper turn around 5:30 p.m. February 25. During the investigation, Lykins provided false information about his identity. After providing his correct information police found he had a warrant for his arrest, prosecutors said.

Lykins refused to get out of the SUV and pulled out a revolver. After a struggle for the gun between Lykins and Renner, Hilgendorf fired two shots into the SUV, hitting Lykins, prosecutors said citing the findings of the investigation.

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Lykins was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the car, only identified as Lykins’ brother, told investigators immediately after the traffic stop Lykins said he didn’t want to go back to jail.

“During a subsequent interview with (Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation), the driver reported that at the time of the traffic stop, Lykins told him he would not go back to jail and that he would kill himself first. The driver further stated that Lykins then grabbed the revolver from the back seat of the vehicle and placed the revolver between his legs before Officer Renner reapproached the vehicle,” a prosecutor’s office spokesperson said in the release.

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