COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The U.S. Marshals Service Southern District of Ohio is offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in an officer-involved shooting, on the loose in central Ohio after escaping from a local hospital.
Jacob D. Davidson, 38, escaped from Twin Valley Behavioral Health Hospital at 2200 W. Broad St. shortly after 8 p.m. on Thursday, according to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office. Davidson is 5’9″, 210 pounds with blue eyes and was last seen with brown hair and a full beard.
The U.S. Marshals Service is asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 1-877-926-8332 or submit a tip here.
Davidson was being held on a $2 million bond and is facing numerous felony charges — felonious assault, discharging a firearm on or near a prohibited premises, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle — stemming from an officer-involved shooting with the Bucyrus Police Department on Nov. 11. The OSHP said Davidson should be considered dangerous, and Ohioans should not approach him and contact law enforcement immediately. Davidson is also a person of interest in a separate, unrelated shooting in Morrow County, according to BPD.
Bucyrus police released dashcam and bodycam video recorded by Officer Devin Wireman of the shootout with Davidson in Bucyrus. Wireman later told other officers that he saw Davidson drive by with a silver motorcycle helmet on his head, a rifle in his lap and his rear window blown out, and began following him.
The video of the tense encounter, which has been edited for clarity and to cover obscene language and visuals, is below.
When Wireman turned his car’s lights on, kept following and ultimately stopped Davidson’s car, the video showed the suspect turned around and opened fire from inside. Later in the bodycam video, Davidson claimed to Wireman and other police that he was aiming at the officer’s car tires.
The Bucyrus Police Department confirmed that Wireman returned fire after Davidson shot twice. Both he and Wireman affirmed in the bodycam video that when Wireman shot back, he hit Davidson’s helmet and knocked it off of his head.
Neither Wireman, Davidson nor anyone else in the area was hurt during the incident. While being arrested, Davidson claimed he was a Marine veteran and, later in the video, said he was “just upholding the Constitution.” BPD said investigators found two rifles, accompanying magazines, ammunition, and Davidson’s helmet when they searched his car.
