An alarm company's 1:39 a.m. call to authorities on August 3 set off a chain of events that ended nearly an hour later and 59 miles away, when Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers pulled two Columbus men out of the woods near Lewis Center Road with 27 stolen guns and a Taser in tow. Investigators say the pair broke into Fin Feather Fur Outfitters on U.S. Route 250 East in Ashland, then led troopers on a high-speed pursuit through four counties before being caught.
Break-In Left Broken Glass Near Store's Archery Area
Responding officers found broken glass near the store's east entrance, upstairs windows, and its archery area after the alarm tripped, according to Ashland County Pictures. Court complaints place the combined value of the 27 stolen firearms at $16,938.74, and officers noted that many of the recovered weapons still had the store's original inventory tags attached, per the same outlet's reporting.
Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers later spotted a stolen Hyundai Elantra driving south on Interstate 71 in Ashland County, according to WLWT. The chase began around 1:40 a.m. that same morning, the station reported, and what followed was a pursuit that stretched far beyond Ashland County's borders.
Chase Hit 130 MPH Through a Construction Zone
Prosecutors told the court the pursuit covered 59 miles across Ashland, Richland, Morrow, and Delaware counties, with speeds reaching up to 130 mph, including a stretch through an active construction zone, according to Ashland County Pictures. State troopers deployed tire-deflation devices multiple times during the chase, and investigators said one of those devices ultimately slowed the car enough for the suspects to abandon it and run on foot, per WLWT.
The pursuit ended in Delaware County near Lewis Center Road after the patrol's Aviation Section tracked the fleeing suspects from the air into nearby woods, where troopers moved in and made the arrests, according to WQIO. The Hyundai Elantra itself turned out to be stolen and had been hotwired, the station reported.
Suspects Face Felony Charges, $100,000 Bonds
Martell Lamont Dawson, 25, and Andez Tyrese Henry, 18, both of Columbus, were charged with receiving stolen property and failure to comply with police, WLWT reported. Both men were taken to the Ashland County Jail, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol says its investigation is continuing.
An Ashland County Common Pleas Court judge set cash bond at $100,000 each for Dawson, whose case is numbered 26-CRI-134, and Henry, whose case is numbered 26-CRI-132, according to Ashland County Pictures. The judge also ordered both men to have no contact with each other and to stay at least 500 feet away from Fin Feather Fur Outfitters. It remains unclear whether additional charges, such as commercial burglary or breaking and entering, could be added as the case proceeds, or whether federal authorities might pursue parallel charges given the volume of firearms involved.
What Ohio Law Says About the Charges
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2921.331, failure to comply with a police order becomes a third-degree felony when the vehicle's operation creates a substantial risk of serious physical harm, carrying a potential penalty of 9 to 36 months in prison along with a mandatory driver's license suspension, according to Ohio law. Separately, receiving, retaining, or disposing of property known or suspected to be stolen is automatically classified as a fourth-degree felony when that property is a firearm or motor vehicle, punishable by 6 to 18 months in prison per count and fines up to $5,000, per Ohio Revised Code Section 2913.51.
The Ashland break-in adds to a national pattern of firearms theft from licensed dealers. More than 17,200 firearms were reported lost or stolen from federally licensed firearms dealers across the country in 2024, according to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which requires dealers to report missing inventory within 48 hours. Ohio is among 15 states with laws mandating that lost or stolen firearms be reported to law enforcement, a measure intended to speed up tracking before weapons reach illicit markets, according to the National Policing Institute.
Both Dawson and Henry remain presumed innocent, and the current charges reflect the initial formal filings in the case. The Ohio State Highway Patrol has not indicated when its investigation might conclude.
