Urbana attorney suspended following arrest on felony charges

An Urbana attorney is facing several felonies and misdemeanors, including domestic violence, burglary and violating a protection order and has had his law license suspended, according to court records.

Ryan Reed, 39, is also facing charges following a pursuit on Monday involving the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, according to a sheriff’s office report.

As of Tuesday evening, Reed was listed as an inmate in the Tri-County Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg. He is scheduled to appear in court July 1, court records show.

Reed is accused of entering a woman’s home while highly intoxicated on May 14, according to a police report. He is also accused of breaking a protection order and assaulting the same woman on May 6.

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In the May 14 incident, the woman told police that Reed came in the front door using his key and headed upstairs while she and her daughter were in the living room. The protection order states that Reed was supposed to surrender his keys and is not allowed to be at the house, the report said.

“(The woman) stated she asked Reed why he was there… he told her he wanted to talk,” the report said.

The woman picked up her phone to call 911 and Reed fled the house, the report said. Officers were unable to find Reed, but made contact with him and he denied being in Urbana. Because officers were unable to locate Reed, a warrant for violating a domestic violence protection order and burglary was issued for his arrest, according to the report.

In the Monday incident, sheriff’s deputies chased Reed after Urbana police alerted them around 1:20 p.m. to be on the lookout for him in a 2014 purple Dodge Charger on the way to Urbana to harm the same female, according to a Champaign County Sheriff’s Office report.

Deputies located Reed heading north on State Route 54, the report said.

Reed sped up to flee from deputies and the pursuit started. At its peak, Reed and the officers reached speeds of about 90 to 95 mph, according to the report. The car crashed just west of Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, the report said.

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Reed was arrested and charged with failure to comply with an order or signal of police officer, driving under suspension and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, according to the report.

According to the report, Reed was charged with domestic violence, aggravated menacing and inducing panic in this incident.

As a result of Reed’s initial criminal charges, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued him an interim remedial suspension to practice law in the State of Ohio on May 22, according to court records. He was issued the suspension, among other things, because he, “has engaged in conduct that violates the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct and posses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public.”

Substance abuse issues also played a role in why the Supreme Court of Ohio decided to suspend Reed, according to his suspension judgment from the court.

“There is no question that (Reed) suffers from an uncontrolled alcohol addiction that is impacting his ability to competently and ethically practice law,” the judgment said.

A grand jury indicted Reed on June 1 on two counts of burglary, four counts of violating a protection order, one count of OVI, one count of domestic violence and one count of assault after the May 6 and 14 incidents, court records show.

Credit: Tri-County Jail

Credit: Tri-County Jail

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