Ontario hostage situation: Vance faces 42-count indictment
A 32-year-old Perrysville man accused of shooting an Ontario police officer and a woman during a domestic disturbance that turned into a standoff and hostage situation has been indicted on 42 charges.
Jareth Vance faces four counts of attempted aggravated murder and four counts of attempted murder for the Feb. 11 incident.
Of the 42 charges, 37 are felonies, and 27 carry a gun specification. The weapon alleged to have been involved was a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun.
Vance was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday afternoon in Mansfield Municipal Court, but the hearing was canceled because of the indictment.
He also is charged with aggravated burglary; seven counts of felonious assault; 11 counts of kidnapping; aggravated arson; six counts of menacing by stalking; inducing panic; disrupting public services; possessing criminal tools; aggravated menacing; two counts of attempted cruelty to companion animals, and misdemeanor theft.
The last five counts are misdemeanors.
Most of the charges relate to a Feb. 11 disturbance in the 1000 block of the Landings Court housing complex in Ontario.
Ontario police Officer Dylan Bailey, 29, suffered three gunshot wounds, two to a leg and a third to an elbow.
A 43-year-old Galion woman who reportedly was being held hostage inside the home suffered a single gunshot wound to her lower extremities as she tried to flee. Her name was redacted on the indictment.
Two shooting victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries
Injuries to the shooting victims were not life-threatening.
A 4-hour standoff ensued, after which Vance surrendered. In the aggravated burglary charge, Vance is accused of trespassing in a Richland County residence on Feb. 11.
Alleged victims of the kidnapping counts include six children between the ages of 7 and 17.
The six charges of menacing by stalking allegedly occurred between Jan. 28 and Feb. 11.
In two of those counts, Vance allegedly made threats to the victim. In another, he is alleged to have had a handgun.
Ontario police Chief Tommy Hill said an incident in Crawford County between Vance and the alleged female victim happened before the standoff and continued into Richland County.
According to the indictment, Vance "did by means of fire or explosion knowingly caused physical harm" to a residence in Galion. The date is Feb. 11 for the count of aggravated arson.
Two misdemeanor counts of attempted cruelty to companion animals seem tied to the aggravated arson charge. Vance allegedly committed both on Feb. 11. According to the indictment, he "did knowingly attempt to cause serious physical harm to a companion animal by fire."
Police: Friction between Vance and shooting victim
There had been friction in the relationship, Hill has previously said. Police later learned the 43-year-old Galion woman had a no contact order against Vance.
Vance drove to the Ontario housing complex in a U-Haul van, Hill said, adding that what happened next could be characterized as a home invasion.
Ontario police received a 911 call at 8:47 p.m. Feb. 11 about a disturbance in Landings Court in which the suspect was armed.
Upon arrival, officers said they could see through a window that a man was holding a woman hostage at gunpoint.
"This was a situation that was unraveling, and there were children running out of the house. There were adults running out of the house," Hill previously said. "We didn't know if the suspect was coming out. We couldn't get people to move.
"This guy was shooting from inside to out. You had the people who were standing or sat down outside, and we had to worry about this. When I watched this, my heart sank. This is the worst situation you ever want your officers to be involved in."
Vance is being held in the county jail on a $1 million cash bond.
mcaudill@gannett.com
419-521-7219
X: @MarkCau32059251
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Perrysville OH man faces 42 charges in Ontario standoff
