COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A suspect whom Bexley police said could be the same person who drove a van into a gas station and stole cigarettes and cash early Monday led CPD on a short pursuit early Monday morning.
CPD officers responded to an officer-in-trouble call around 4:30 a.m. Monday in the area of East Innis Avenue and South 5th Street.
Officers were attempting to stop the driver of an allegedly stolen van.
In an apparent attempt to elude police, the driver drove the van between a light pole and a house and crashed into a porch. The crash caused a gas leak at the home.
The residents of the home had to be evacuated for their safety. The gas leak was contained.
The van and its driver was stopped in another resident’s front yard.
The driver resisted arrest, and officers deployed a Taser on the suspect, CPD said.
An officer received minor injuries during the incident.
Bexley police said they believe the suspect in the van was the same suspect wanted from an earlier smash-and-grab robbery on East Livingston Avenue.
The burglary occurred around 3 a.m. Monday at a Speedway gas station in Bexley.
Police said a suspect smashed through the front glass of the station with a van, filled a trash can with cigarettes from the store, took cash and fled the scene.
Bexley police remained on the scene at East Innis Avenue in an effort to determine if the suspect could be responsible for both crimes.
The suspect was taken into CPD's custody and was being charged with receiving stolen property, resisting arrest and various traffic violations.
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