Editor's Note: This article has been updated to correct details about the nature of the Strongsville incident. An earlier version contained inaccurate information regarding events at the Sheetz location.
U.S. Marshals and local police are in the middle of a multi-city manhunt for a man wanted in a Columbus homicide, after a brief encounter near a Strongsville Sheetz gas station led to a foot pursuit and an ongoing search, according to authorities. The case now has suburban Strongsville tied to a separate killing in Columbus, with multiple agencies racing to track the suspect without putting the public in harm’s way.
As reported by WKYC, Strongsville police say they encountered a man and woman in the area of the Sheetz gas station and Best Western Hotel along State Route 82 in the early hours of July 6. During that encounter, the male suspect provided false information about his identity. After officers later determined his true identity, they attempted to re-engage him, at which point he fled on foot into a wooded area south of the hotel and gas station. WKYC identified the man being sought by U.S. Marshals as Lezleon Virjon Evans, 20, of Columbus, and reported that Columbus detectives have charged him in a separate Columbus killing.
Columbus connection and multiagency search
Columbus police have charged Evans with murder in an unrelated Columbus homicide, and federal marshals are helping track him down, according to WKYC. The multiagency search involves the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) and is focused on locating Evans and arresting him without escalating the danger to nearby communities.
What authorities are asking
Officials are urging anyone with information to contact the NOVFTF at 1-866-4-WANTED. Tips can be submitted anonymously, and reward money is available. Officials emphasize the public should not approach Evans if seen, but instead immediately contact law enforcement.
Legal context
Evans faces a murder charge in Columbus and will have to answer to those allegations in court if he is found and arrested. Police have not released additional details about a possible motive or the full circumstances of the Columbus case.
