By FreeWire Staff
BUCYRUS—A Centerburg man who was involved in a shoot-out with Bucyrus Police has been sentenced to more than three decades in prison.
Crawford County Prosecutor Matthew Crall said that Jacob Davidson, 41, pleaded guilty to four counts of felonious assault on Wednesday.
The charges stem from an incident that took place on Nov. 11, 2022, beginning in Northern Morrow County and ending on West Charles Street in Bucyrus.
“The assaults resulted in the shooting of three individuals in Northern Morrow County. One of the individuals was shot while rushing to aid his wife who had heard Davidson shoot her over the telephone. None of the victims knew Davidson,” said Crall.
Bucyrus Police Officer Devin Wireman apprehended Davidson after taking fire from Davidson on West Charles Street after he got behind him on East Charles Street near South Sandusky Avenue.
Crall said that Judge Sean Leuthold immediately accepted Davidson’s guilty plea and sentenced him to a maximum of 34.5 years in prison. The breakdown of the sentences in two cases include 11 to 16.5 years (maximum sentence) on count one and six years on each of three other assault charges. Crall said all sentences are to run consecutively for a total of 29 to 34 1/2 years.
“Assistant Prosecutor Dan Stanley did a fantastic job of working with law enforcement from the Bucyrus Police Department, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office and the Licking County Sheriff’s Office as portions of this offense occurred across this region,” stated Crall.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) assisted in this investigation. After these crimes were committed and while a competency exam was ordered, Davidson escaped from Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare Hospital in Columbus.
He was later taken into custody in West Virginia. He faces additional charges for the escape in Franklin County. Leuthold noted the presence of methamphetamines in Davidson’s system during the commission of his crimes. “This is precisely why we take methamphetamine seriously in Crawford County,” said Leuthold in a press release provided by Crall.
Crall said the case took more than two years to complete due to the finding that Davidson was incompetent to stand trial. “Davidson’s restoration to competency took time,” said Crall. “The wait to hold him accountable was worth it. Crawford County and this region of Ohio is safer with Mr. Davidson behind bars for the next three decades.”
