DaytonDailyNews.com

BUTLER TWP., Montgomery County — A Dayton man whose crash into an Olive Garden restaurant sign killed him and his female passenger over the weekend had a stolen handgun in the car.

Butler Twp. police Chief Danny Hobbs said officers found the Ruger P94 .40-caliber handgun after fire crews cut open the car following the crash on Saturday, Oct. 11. It was lying near James Reed III in the driver's seat, was loaded and had the hammer cocked back, Hobbs said.

Reed also was driving under a suspended license, was on parole, had a small amount of marijuana in the car and was already facing two charges of fleeing from police. All of those could explain why Reed drove away from the stop, after which he lost control of the Pontiac Grand Prix and crashed into the Olive Garden sign in the 6700 block of Miller Lane.

Reed, 28, later died at Miami Valley Hospital. His passenger, 22-year-old Lanisha Brookins, died at the scene. Hobbs said the two likely had known each other only a short time, and might have met just the night before, according to interviews in the investigation.

The traffic stop occurred at 11:39 a.m. because of a stop sign violation. Hobbs reiterated Tuesday there was no police chase involved in the crash.

Reed had pleaded not guilty to the charges of failure to comply with a police order from incidents in October 2007 and April 2008. Those were two of seven Reed arrests by Dayton police since 2000. He pleaded guilty three times on cocaine possession and trafficking charges and once on an aggravated robbery charge.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com