Lickity Split burglarized; Middle Point man caught after pursuit

LIMA — A resident's call about a suspicious person lurking near a Lima business early Monday helped Allen County Sheriff's Office deputies make an arrest after a short, high-speed pursuit through town.It all began around 3:30 a.m. Monday when a caller told Sheriff's Office officials that a suspicious man in dark clothing was seen near Lickity Split, 1600 N. West St., said Chief Deputy Jim Everett of the Allen County Sheriff's Office.“That information was given out to our cars and one of the deputies went up to check the business and found the door unsecured and called for additional units to check the inside of the building,” Everett said. “About that time, an individual ran out of the building and ran south toward the nearby Clark gas station and got into a vehicle that was at the station.”The vehicle sped off south on North West Street, Everett said. Several minutes later, deputies spotted the vehicle south on West Street from Grand Avenue at a high rate of speed. The suspect ran red lights, stop signs and attempted to turn east on West Kibby Street and crashed into a guardrail.Everett said after a foot pursuit, Rex Keysor, 42, of Middle Point, was arrested in the yard at 761 S. Elizabeth St. Keysor was being held in the Allen County Jail on suspicion of breaking and entering, Everett said. Additional charges related to fleeing the deputies were pending, he said.Keysor is not unknown to local law enforcement.According to information from Lima Municipal Court, Keysor has had previous run-ins with authorities for theft, possession of drugs, domestic violence, driving under suspension, failure to reinstate an operator's license, among other charges. A case originating in Municipal Court in March for receiving stolen property was bound over to Allen County Common Pleas Court last month, according to court records.Everett said authorities were still trying to determine if anything was taken from the business during Monday's early morning incident. Everett said Keysor wasn't in the business very long between the time the caller alerted authorities to the suspicious activity and the time deputies arrived.The first deputy attempted to stop Keysor with the use of a stun gun, however, the probes didn't stick and Keysor was able to flee, Everett said.“This emphasizes how important it is that people call out suspicious activity,” Everett said. “Somebody saw something suspicious and called enabling us to catch this guy.”