A wrong-way vehicle pursuit on South Bridge Street in Chillicothe ended in a foot chase on Malone Road, and the driver is now in the Ross County Jail, according to the Ross County Sheriff’s Office, as reported by Hopewell Heritage Headlines.
The suspect, identified by the sheriff’s office as Jason Charles Bowens Jr., was taken into custody following the pursuit, the report said. Bowens was booked into the Ross County Jail on Oct. 31, 2026.
According to the sheriff’s office account reported by Hopewell Heritage Headlines, Bowens faces charges of domestic violence, strangulation, burglary, and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer. All of the charges are allegations, and Bowens is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The sheriff’s office has not released additional detail about what started the pursuit, how long it lasted, or whether anyone was injured, and NewsForce247 is not reporting any of those points beyond the office’s account. Anyone with information about the incident can contact the Ross County Sheriff’s Office.
South Bridge Street is one of Chillicothe’s main commercial corridors, and a wrong-way pursuit there posed an obvious risk to other drivers — the kind of incident that routinely draws a heavy response from deputies and city officers alike.
The case now moves to the Ross County courts, where Bowens is expected to make an initial appearance on the charges. Court dates and any bond decision will be set through that process.
Failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer is the charge Ohio law applies to a driver who flees from law enforcement, and in a pursuit case it is routinely filed alongside any charges arising from the underlying incident officers were investigating. In this case, the booking charges reported by the sheriff’s office also include domestic violence, strangulation and burglary.
The sheriff’s office account, as reported by Hopewell Heritage Headlines, did not describe damage to any vehicle or property during the pursuit, and did not say whether the foot chase on Malone Road involved any other person. NewsForce247 has left those questions with the sheriff’s office and will report the answers if they are released.
NewsForce247 will update this story if the sheriff’s office or the court releases further confirmed information, including any additional charges or a first court appearance date.