An Arrest was Made and Suspected Controlled Substance Recovered!
A Chillicothe man was arrested Monday night after police say a witness reported seeing him strike a female passenger while driving through the city.
According to a Chillicothe Police Department report, officers were dispatched around 10 p.m. on June 15 to the area of North Bridge Street after a caller reported an apparent domestic violence incident involving an older tan sedan traveling southbound. The caller told dispatchers the male driver appeared to be striking a female passenger as the vehicle traveled down the roadway.
Officers located the vehicle, a 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis, after it pulled into the Speedway at North Bridge Street and East Main Street. Police identified the driver as Tyler Scott Bethel Estep, 33.
A witness later told police she observed the driver making punching motions while driving and saw the female passenger with blood on her face. The witness also reported seeing the woman attempt to get out of the vehicle before the driver allegedly grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back inside.
According to the report, the female passenger was found with a bloody nose, a busted lip, bruising on her face, and marks on her arm. She told officers the incident began during an argument over access to a newly purchased cell phone. The woman stated Estep struck her and grabbed her while they were traveling on North Bridge Street.
Estep denied assaulting the woman and told officers she had been experiencing a mental health episode and was attempting to jump from the moving vehicle. He claimed he grabbed her in an effort to keep her from exiting the car.
Police reported observing blood on Estep’s knuckles and hand during their investigation. Based on the witness statement, the woman’s account, and the injuries observed at the scene, officers arrested Estep on a charge of Domestic Violence, knowingly causing physical harm, a first-degree misdemeanor.
During a search of the vehicle following the arrest, officers located a plastic bag containing 12 white pills hidden beneath the driver’s seat floorboard. According to the report, Estep referred to the pills as “perc 10s” and stated he had a prescription, but officers noted he was unable to provide proof at the scene. The pills were seized and will be submitted to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for testing and identification. Police indicated additional charges could be pursued depending on the results.
Investigators also determined Estep was driving under a non-compliance suspension. Officers further discovered the license plate displayed on the vehicle was registered to a different vehicle and was described in the report as a fictitious plate. Estep was cited for driving under suspension and operating a vehicle with a fictitious or invalid registration plate.
The vehicle was impounded and towed from the scene.
Jail records show Estep was booked into the Ross County Jail shortly after 11 p.m. Monday and remained in custody on the domestic violence charge at the time records were reviewed.
As with all criminal cases, the charge is merely an accusation, and Estep is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
