Theft suspect shot by police from hood of car

The Cincinnati Premium Outlets were filled with shoppers on Sunday, hours after a Trotwood man suspected of theft was shot at the mall while trying to elude police.

A Monroe police officer was investigating the case at about 9 p.m. Saturday when 22-year-old Jamarcus Levon Brown ran to the mall parking lot. He hopped into a vehicle and Officer Chad Caudill gave chase, according to police.

Caudill ended up on the hood of Brown’s car and fired shots as Brown accelerated. At least one of the shots struck the suspect in the leg.

Brown is facing multiple charges, including felony assault on a police officer and failure to comply with police, as well as a misdemeanor charge of obstructing official business. A court hearing for Brown is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5.

He is being held without bond at the Warren County Jail on a warrant issued last week in Montgomery County.

Brown is accused of leading Huber Heights police on a high-speed chase on interstates 70 and 675 last Wednesday. Police say he crashed his car near an exit on I-675 and fled the scene. A judge issued a warrant for Brown’s arrest Thursday on charges of failure to comply and possession of drugs.

Dozens of shoppers, many of them parents carrying young children in car seats or strollers, said Sunday they were unaware that a shooting had taken place at the mall.

Sara Inzerello, a 23-year-old mom from Mason, was packing up her daughter’s stroller in the parking lot where police chased Brown on Saturday night. Inzerello said she visits the store monthly to shop for children’s clothing.

“I’ll keep my eyes open for anything suspicious,” Inzerello said as security trucks circled the mall. “But it doesn’t change how I feel about the outlets.”

A handful of other shoppers, like Inzerello, told a Hamilton Journal-News/Middletown Journal reporter they were surprised by the shooting but wouldn’t stop coming to the mall.

The Cincinnati Premium Outlets were open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, as normal, according to a security officer. The night before had been anything but normal at the mall as police crews spent hours Saturday night investigating what led to the shooting.

Monroe police crews were initially dispatched to the outlets shortly before 9 p.m., when the stores closed. They were called to investigate possible theft at the shops, according to a Monroe Police Department news release.

Thirty minutes into the investigation, Brown fled the scene. About two minutes later, Caudill fired shots from the hood of Brown’s car.

Caudill, a five-year police veteran, was not injured in the shooting. He called for a medic to respond and Brown was transported by ambulance to Middletown Atrium Hospital where he was treated and released into custody Sunday morning.

According to the Monroe Police website, Caudill is a 2001 graduate of Edgewood High School and a 2005 graduate of Miami University.

Officials at the Cincinnati Premium Outlets, the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and the Monroe Fire Department referred inquiries about the incident to the Monroe Police Department. Police officials were not available Sunday for comment.

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