A 41-year-old man was taken into custody Tuesday evening after allegedly firing shots at a vehicle near the Hall of Fame Fuel Mart and leading police on a brief pursuit and foot chase, according to a report from the Canton Police Department.
Police identified the suspect as Deon Davis, 41.
An officer assigned to the afternoon patrol division was at the Canton Police Department Training Academy on Feb. 17 when two gunshots were heard nearby. As the officer began leaving the academy parking lot to investigate, a light-colored four-door sedan entered at a high rate of speed. A woman exited the vehicle yelling that someone had shot at their car and that children were inside.
The woman told the officer the shots were fired near the Hall of Fame Fuel Mart, about a block away, and that the suspects had been on foot in the parking lot, the report said.
The officer notified dispatch and drove toward the fuel mart, where three vehicles were seen leaving the lot eastbound on Sherrick Road SE. One vehicle — a Kia SUV with a shattered rear window — drew attention and accelerated away from the area.
At the intersection of Cherry Avenue and Sherrick Road SE, the officer briefly stopped to check for victims and speak with witnesses. An unidentified witness reported the shooter had entered a vehicle and traveled east on Sherrick Road.
Police then pursued the Kia eastbound. In the 900 block of Sherrick Road SE, a passenger exited the SUV before the vehicle sped away again. After the officer activated overhead lights, the driver turned north onto Roe Court SE and pulled into a driveway. The vehicle then reversed, nearly striking the cruiser, and fled westbound on Sherrick Road, police said.
Another officer reported the vehicle crashed in the 800 block of Sherrick Road SE. Police observed a suspect fleeing on foot toward a wooded area. During the chase, the suspect discarded a firearm over a fence into the backyard of a nearby residence, the report said.
Officers pursued Davis through the woods and surrounded him. After receiving verbal commands, he surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident.
Police later recovered a black 9mm Beretta handgun in the backyard of a home in the 800 block of Sherrick Road SE. Officers secured the scene until the department’s Identification Bureau collected the weapon as evidence.
Information on formal charges was not immediately available.
