KIRTLAND, Ohio – A suspect led officers on a 20-minute police chase Friday afternoon, but when they were finally able to apprehend the driver, many were stunned to find who was inside.
“The suspect is 88 years old, but he’s a young 88,” said Kirtland Police chief Wayne Baumgart. “He looks much younger than that age. Very good shaped individual. He’s very strong. I don’t think he intended to cause any harm but it was a possibility so we had to pursue him and stop him.”
Richard Seymour, of Kirtland, is accused of choking his wife at South Kirtland Cemetery. His wife called 911, and when officers approach Seymour, he drove off in his black pickup truck.
”I heard like the cop go flying by but then I could heard a sound of him slowing down really quickly, so I was like, that’s weird, maybe he pulled someone over right in front of my house, and then I heard ‘Don’t you go anywhere,’” said Jon Christie, who lives near the cemetery. “He should probably find some sort of activity to keep himself young besides running from the cops.”
Seymour has had a few run-ins with the law, Baumgart said, though nothing this serious.
”It was more of a parade more than a pursuit,” Baumgart said. “He never went over 60 miles an hour, and at all the intersections, he was careful but he did go through some stop signs.”
Six officers followed Seymour for several miles, as he led them on a chase through Kirtland to Chardon and back. Chardon Police officers were able to throw a stop stick in front of the suspect’s car. Minutes later, a Kirtland officer jumped on to the truck and put it to a complete stop.
The officers then pulled Seymour out of the vehicle.
Seymour was arrested and charged with domestic violence, violating a protective order and failure to comply with police.
He was released on a $5000 bond. He is due back on court on Wednesday.