A 31-year-old Findlay man and two teenagers are in custody after a person was surrounded and robbed at knifepoint in Rawson Park early Sunday, November 1, according to the Findlay Police Department, whose account was reported by WTOL and The Fostoria Free Press.
Officers were called to the park at 1:16 a.m. Sunday for a report of an aggravated robbery, police said. The victim told officers three suspects approached and surrounded him, two of them carrying knives, and stole several items, including an electric scooter, according to the department’s report as reported by WTOL.
Police have not released the victim’s name or any other identifying details, and no injuries to the victim were reported in the department’s account. What was taken beyond the electric scooter has been described only as several items; officers later recovered most of the stolen property, police said.
The arrests came after officers checking the area spotted a man matching the description of one of the suspects at a home in the 100 block of Shinkle Street, according to WTOL’s reporting of the police account. After an investigation, police said they had probable cause and took that suspect into custody.
Investigators then determined the two other suspects — and the stolen property — were also inside the Shinkle Street residence, police said. Officers obtained a search warrant and executed it with help from the Findlay Police Department’s Emergency Response Team. The two remaining suspects were found inside, detained, and arrested once their identities were confirmed, and most of the stolen property was recovered from the home, according to police.
The sequence, as police described it, moved quickly for an early-morning case: the robbery was reported at 1:16 a.m.; officers checking the surrounding area located a suspect matching the description at the Shinkle Street home; that man was taken into custody on probable cause; and a search warrant, executed with the department’s Emergency Response Team, produced the other two suspects and most of the stolen property inside the same house — all before the arrests were announced later Sunday, according to WTOL’s reporting of the department’s account.
The adult suspect was identified by police as Jacob Kelley, 31, of Findlay. He is charged with complicity to aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, and was taken to the Hancock County Justice Center, police said, as reported by WTOL and The Fostoria Free Press. The two juveniles, ages 14 and 15, are each charged with aggravated robbery, also a first-degree felony, and were taken to the Wood County Juvenile Detention Center. Police did not release the teenagers’ names.
Aggravated robbery is among the most serious theft offenses in Ohio law because it involves a deadly weapon or serious harm during a theft; a first-degree felony charge reflects the allegation that knives were displayed while the victim was surrounded. The complicity charge against Kelley alleges he aided or participated in the offense rather than acting alone. All three suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What we know: the robbery was reported at 1:16 a.m. Sunday at Rawson Park; three suspects were arrested the same morning; two knives were reported; most of the stolen property was recovered at a Shinkle Street home; and the three suspects are lodged in the Hancock County Justice Center and the Wood County Juvenile Detention Center. What we’re still waiting on: police have released no court dates, bond amounts or arraignment information, and it is not yet known whether additional charges will follow as the investigation continues.
The case adds to a heavy weekend for Northwest Ohio first responders, who also handled a fatal head-on crash in Toledo late Saturday, covered in our earlier reporting: three killed, three hurt in a head-on crash on Hill Avenue. Findlay’s community calendar, meanwhile, turns to a different kind of gathering this week with the Helping Hands food drive collection for CHOPIN Hall: Findlay’s Helping Hands food drive sets its Nov. 4 collection.
What happens next: Kelley is expected to make an initial court appearance in Hancock County, and the two juveniles will face proceedings through the juvenile system in Wood County. Anyone with information about the Rawson Park robbery can contact the Findlay Police Department.
Photo: Raymond Wambsgans, CC BY