With the coincidence of one high-speed chase with property damage and a power outage coming out of the Ross County Grand Jury last Friday…on the day after a high-speed chase with property damage and an even bigger power outage Thursday…I asked Ross County Prosecutor Jeff Marks how the his legal system deals with such issues.
As the chief legal officer for the county, Marks oversees the charging of suspects and the resulting grand jury indictment process, that usually leads to a court trial or the accused pleading out of a trial.
One of my questions was why there are no charges in the grand jury indictments regarding the high-speed chase itself or power outages when they break utility poles.
Marks said the charge of “Failure to Comply” with a police officer, sheriff’s deputy, or Highway Patrol trooper covers the chase and public threat. The cost of the utility pole is not always available at the time of the grand jury. And, any power outage is hard to quantify, especially since it doesn’t happen too often.
He said, fortunately, there have not been fatalities to deal with in recent chases.
I accidentally clipped off the start of our conversation, but the my interview audio covers most of the subject – along with illustrations from the two high-speed chases:
Find more in the article on the Scioto Post, including the video interview.
Kevin Coleman covers local government and culture for the Scioto Post and iHeart Media Southern Ohio. For stories or questions, contact Kevin Coleman or the iHeart Southern Ohio Newsroom.