Logan County Common Pleas Court
A defendant found guilty in April of multiple charges following a two-day jury trial has been sentenced to prison.
Brandon Whitt, 37, was sentenced to three years in prison on charges including tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony; aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony; and failure to comply with law enforcement, a first-degree misdemeanor.
The charges are the result of a Sept. 5, 2022, traffic stop executed by officers of the Washington Township Police Department. A Washington Township officer on patrol in the area of State Route 708 and Chestnut near Orchard Island observed a vehicle operated by a known suspended driver, Whitt.
Officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle in an alley between Park and Crescent streets on Orchard Island. However, officers noticed the driver looking back at the patrol car and continued to drive, ignoring the officer’s emergency lights and siren.
The driver, Whitt, reportedly took off at a high rate of speed down the alley, throwing gravel and nearly losing control.
Officers continued to pursue Whitt through the alley, eventually coming to a stop. Whitt jumped out of his vehicle with his hands in the air when he was immediately placed in handcuffs.
When asked why he didn’t stop, the defendant advised officers he was scared.
A female passenger inside the vehicle was unharmed. While conducting a search of the vehicle, officers located a black book bag containing five bags of marijuana. Officers also located blue latex gloves and noticed one glove with a finger cut off.
Officers performed a thorough search of the area where Whitt had exited his vehicle and recovered a blue finger of a latex glove that was tied off, containing a white crystal substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine.
Whitt has an extensive criminal history, including charges dating back as far as a 2006 burglary conviction and 2007 charge of breaking and entering.
