In a release posted on social media, police said that the incident began early Friday, Dec. 19, when a truck and enclosed trailer were stolen from a hotel in Butler Twp. Police said they recovered the stolen truck in Trotwood after following several leads, including using GPS tracking and license plate reader cameras. However, the trailer and more than $100,000 of contents were missing.
After continuing to work on the case over the weekend, police said they developed probable cause for a search warrant at a Trotwood property in the 5000 block of Wolf Creek Pike, where Rodney M. Smith Jr., 25, lives.
Police said that Smith is a known automobile thief, adding that he is a suspect in several auto thefts in Butler Twp. He also was recently shot by Dayton PD while fleeing from another stolen vehicle with a gun.
According to the release, he had active warrants connected to the Dayton incident, after he was released from jail and cut off his ankle monitor.
The standoff
Butler Twp. police asked for help conducting the search warrant from the Montgomery County R.A.N.G.E. Task Force and Montgomery County Regional SWAT.
Police said Smith initially refused to come out, leading to an hourslong standoff before he eventually surrendered, was arrested and was taken to Montgomery County Jail.
The stolen trailer and more than $100,000 in stolen property were recovered from the property, police said, along with “a quantity” of methamphetamine.
The June shooting
Smith was shot on June 12 after troopers saw a Ford Fusion that was reported stolen during a joint violence deterrence initiative with the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s aviation unit and Dayton police, according to Montgomery County Municipal Court Western Division records.
Dayton officers tried to stop the car, which fled, leading to a pursuit with the OSHP helicopter tracking the fleeing vehicle, court records said.
On Miller Avenue, the car pulled up next to a pickup truck with a trailer, and troopers noted something was thrown or exchanged from the car. When police reached the spot, though, the truck had pulled across the road, blocking police.
Body camera footage of the incident showed an officer get out of the cruiser with their gun drawn and call for the driver of the truck to get out.
The driver, who was later identified as Smith, got out and ran across the street away from police.
The officer can be heard yelling “he’s got a gun” on body camera footage. They fired one shot, hitting Smith.
Dayton Police Chief Kamran Afzal said after the incident that Smith had a 9mm Glock 19/11, which had live rounds loaded and one round in the chamber.
The driver of the Ford, Heaven Shepherd, 30, was indicted on receiving stolen property, failure to comply and possession of heroin charges, though the court granted her intervention in lieu of conviction, so the charges will be dismissed if she completes her intervention plan.
Smith was charged with having weapons while under disability, aggravated possession of drugs, possession of drugs and obstructing official business
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