A Bainbridge man was sentenced to over a year in prison on charges of failure to comply recently in Highland County Common Pleas Court.
Michael Newsome, 53, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for failing to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony. Newsome was also given 74 days of jail-time credit. The court ordered that Newsome’s driver’s license was to be suspended for three years.
Newsome was also ordered to pay restitution of $500 to the victim through the Highland County Victim Witness Office.
According to court documents, on or around Jan. 18, 2024, a sergeant and patrol officer were on patrol in a marked cruiser going eastbound on Jefferson Street in Greenfield. A sergeant saw a blue Chrysler Pacifica in front of them that didn’t have a visible license plate light. After they ran the license plate through dispatch, the sergeant activated the cruiser’s overhead lights and siren in order to start a traffic stop on Jefferson Street.
The vehicle then turned right onto South Fourth Street, going the wrong way on a one-way street. It then started to “accelerate rapidly” as the sergeant followed. After that, it turned eastbound onto Mirabeau Street without using a turn signal. It continued to go eastbound on Mirabeau Street, still going the wrong way on a one-way street.
The vehicle almost hit a pickup truck that turned onto Mirabeau Street. At the time of the near accident, the vehicle was going “in excess of” 50 mph. It then crossed South Washington Street and was almost hit by a semi. The sergeant also saw the vehicle go airborne “for a brief moment” as it “threw sparks” when it landed. Following that, it went eastbound on Mirabeau Street, once again going the wrong way on a one-way street, according to court records.
After the semi passed, the sergeant went over South Washington Street and saw that the vehicle crashed in the 200 block of Mirabeau Street at an north alley halfway up the block. The sergeant saw Newsome try to flee, but was able to command him to stop. Newsome told the sergeant that they were running because they had an Adult Parole Authority warrant. The vehicle Newsome was using belonged to his partner and was destroyed.
Newsome also hit a Kia Soul that was sitting along the road and damaged “the entire side of the vehicle.”
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
