COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio State Highway Patrol sergeant is under investigation for an incident that extended the week-long crime spree of two teenage murder suspects from Columbus.
Sergeant Jeff Shane is on desk duty, accused of violating policies when he gave Devonere Simmonds and Nathaniel Brunner a courtesy ride this past weekend, minutes before they shot a man during a carjacking at a truck stop.
Simmonds (above) and Brunner had been on the run since Thursday after being linked to the shooting death of Imran Ashgar, 34, who shot during a robbery at a Livingston Avenue market, and Lamont Frazier, 17, whose body was found on a sidewalk on Oakwood Avenue early Thursday morning, police said.
Simmonds, 17, and Brunner, 18, have both been charged with murder in Ashgar’s death.
The two have also been linked to a double shooting on July 21, which left one man dead and another injured, as well as the shooting of a Virginia man as they stole his vehicle at the truck-stop where Shane dropped them off.
The teens were arrested in Dayton Saturday.
State patrol officials say Shane should have found a gun on one of the teens during a pat-down or found their names in a criminal database.