Kenton man who stole minivan, fled from police and later attempted suicide enters pleas

J Swygart, The Lima News, Ohio

Feb. 22—LIMA — A Kenton man who broke into a Lima family's garage, stole a minivan and led police on a high-speed chase, then later attempted to commit suicide while in the Allen County jail, pleaded guilty Monday to two felony charges related to those incidents.

Matthew Manns, 33, will be sentenced March 29 after entering pleas to second-degree felony counts of robbery and burglary. As part of a negotiated deal with prosecutors, the burglary charge was reduced from an original count of aggravated burglary. The state also agreed to dismiss counts of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and grand theft of a motor vehicle, felonies of the third- and fourth-degrees, respectfully.

Court records indicated that at approximately 9:30 p.m. July 3, residents at 527 Fenway Drive in Lima were alerted by their dogs to a commotion outside the residence. A man and his wife observed an unknown white male, later identified as Manns, entering their detached garage.

When the male homeowner walked outside to confront Manns, he found the man was standing in the driveway and attempting to enter a truck parked in the driveway. Manns reportedly stated that he needed a ride. When the homeowner told the intruder to get out of his truck, Manns reportedly displayed a baseball bat and stated, "Give me your keys, or I'll bash your head."

Manns then entered a minivan that was parked in the garage and fled. Deputies located him driving in the area and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but Manns fled at a high rate of speed and led deputies on a nearly 15-minute pursuit that ended when he crashed in a Hardin County cornfield.

Manns attempted to resist deputies but was eventually taken into custody. He claimed to have a medical issue and was subsequently transported to Lima Memorial Health System before he was released to the Allen County jail.

The following morning, a corrections officer at the jail, while doing routine inmate checks, found Manns unresponsive in his cell with a sheet around his neck. Officers summoned medical assistance, and Mann regained consciousness. He then immediately began attempting to further harm himself by banging his head on the concrete floor, according to court documents. He was restrained and transported back to Mercy Health-St. Rita's Medical Center by deputies.

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