Man shot and killed after 2-hour chase

Van Wert independent

An Allen County man who stole a semi tractor-trailer rig and led law enforcement officers on a nearly two-hour chase was shot and killed on U.S. 30 in Van Wert County late Tuesday morning.

According to a news released from the Allen County Sheriff’s Office, the man, later identified as Terry R. Pierce Jr., 46, of Spencerville, was first ordered to stop by a Spencerville police officer while in that village, but refused to do so, initiating a chase that eventually involved cruisers from the Allen County Sheriff’s Office, Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office, and Ohio State Highway Patrol.

After leaving Spencerville, Pierce led a chase through Allen County and eventually into Van Wert County on U.S. 30 near Delphos. Multiple attempts were made to stop the semi, including the use of stop sticks, shooting out tires on the semi, and other maneuvers. Negotiators also talked to the man over the phone in an attempt to get him to stop and surrender, but Pierce refused all orders to stop and threatened multiple times that he was going to kill people.

The westbound semi also drove onto the eastbound lanes of U.S. 30 to avoid officers, creating a traffic hazard for oncoming vehicles.

After nearly two hours and the failure of all attempts to stop the semi, officers made the decision to fire on the semi driver, hitting Pierce and eventually stopping the semi at 10:04 a.m. near the intersection with Feasby Wisener Road. No one else was reported injured during the chase, although the eastbound lanes of U.S. 30 were closed until late Tuesday afternoon.

The investigation of the shooting was conducted by officers from the Paulding and Van Wert County sheriff’s offices and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office’s investigative agency.