WARREN COUNTY — UPDATE @ 4:40 p.m.:
A Cincinnati man is in custody after leading Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers on a pursuit and eventual standoff in Warren County Wednesday afternoon.
Troopers from the Lebanon Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) responded to I-71 on reports of a Hyundai SUV driving recklessly in the northbound lanes near State Route 741, an OSHP spokesperson said in a release.
When troopers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the SUV, the driver wouldn’t stop and a chase began.
Stop sticks were used and stopped the SUV multiple times. It finally stopped on the interstate near the rest areas north of SR 123. After the SUV stopped, a standoff began.
After roughly one and a half hours worth of negotiations, the suspect was taken into custody. While he refused to identity himself, he was later identified as Gerale Sanchez Witcher, 32, of Cincinnati.
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Witcher is being charged with failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and operating a vehicle impaired. Troopers said more charges may be filed.
The standoff and investigation closed I-71 Wednesday afternoon. It has since reopened.
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