Emin Johnson, charged with involuntary manslaughter and several other felony crimes related to the March 31 death of Bluffton Police Officer Dominic Francis, enters a Hancock County courtroom for a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday. Judge Reginald Routson set an April 24 trial date for Johnson, one of three men charged in Francis’ death.
J Swygart | The Lima News
FINDLAY — An April 2023 trial date was scheduled Wednesday in Hancock County Common Pleas Court for Emin Johnson, the driver of a vehicle that led law enforcement on a high-speed chase through multiple counties and which culminated after the car struck and killed a police officer from the village of Bluffton.
Johnson, 20, of Euclid, was indicted by a Hancock County grand jury in April on two counts of involuntary manslaughter, felonies of the first degree; receiving stolen property, a felony of the fourth degree; failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony; possessing criminal tools, a felony of the fifth degree; tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony; aggravated vehicular homicide, a third-degree felony; failure to stop after an accident, a felony of the second degree; having weapons under disability, a third-degree felony; and improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle, a felony of the fourth degree.
All 10 counts are directly related to the March 31 death of Bluffton Police Officer Dominic Francis, who was struck and killed by the stolen 2020 Buick Infiniti driven by Johnson on Interstate 75. Francis, 42, was killed while he was setting up stop sticks, devices which flatten tires, to try to end the chase that reportedly had reached speeds up to 120 mph.
Francis had been a police officer in Bluffton for nine years at the time of his death. With members of the fallen officer’s family seated inside the Hancock County Common Pleas Courtroom of Judge Reginald Routson on Wednesday, defense attorney Russell Leffler and Assistant Hancock County Prosecuting Attorney Colleen Limerick said that plea negotiations have been taking place in Johnson’s case but have not resulted in a resolution.
“There is a lot of discovery to go through; a lot of complicated issues,” said Leffler, who only recently took over the case. “I’d like to get a resolution if we can but it’s been very difficult.”
Rouston set a trial date of April 24 and ordered the attorneys to have all motions before the court by Feb. 24. A pre-trial conference was set for March 3.
Two other men who were in the vehicle when it struck Francis are also awaiting trial.
Zachary Love, 22, of Columbus, is charged with two counts of receiving stolen property , tampering with evidence and having weapons under disability. His trial was originally scheduled to begin next Monday but has since been pushed back until March 27.
Dante Tate, 19, of Euclid, is charged with two counts of receiving stolen property, improper use of firearms in a motor vehicle and grand theft of a motor vehicle. His jury trial is scheduled for Jan. 17.
