Hearing date set for Ohio man charged with trying to hit deputy

OREGON — A Dec. 7 preliminary hearing has been set for an Ohio man charged with attempted first-degree murder after police say he veered his car toward an Ogle County deputy and then crashed into a Stephenson County squad car.

Brian K. Taylor, 49, of Massillon, Ohio, was charged last week with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of aggravated battery to a police officer, one count of aggravated assault of a police officer, two counts of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, one count of unlawful display of a license plate and one count of Class A speeding 35-plus mph over the speed limit.

He appeared in court on Nov. 30 with a public defender with his next court appearance set for Dec. 7 at 10 a.m.

The alleged incident occurred when the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department was advised by Stephenson County Sheriff’s Office that their deputies were pursuing a Mazda MX5 southbound on Illinois Route 26 from Freeport. The pursuit continued south onto Freeport Road into Ogle County.

An Ogle County deputy deployed stop sticks in the area of Freeport and Milledgeville roads in an attempt to flatten the fleeing vehicle’s tires and end the pursuit, Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said in a report.

The report read: “As the driver of the fleeing vehicle approached the Deputy, he veered left in an attempt to strike the Deputy, who was on the shoulder of the opposite lane of traffic. The Deputy was able to move out of the way of the fleeing vehicle.”

The Mazda struck the Stephenson County squad car after it entered the roadway, according to the report.

“It definitely appears to be intentional,” VanVickle said. “He [Taylor] could have gone around the other side, but he chose to go to the side the deputy was on.”

VanVickle said he believed Stephenson County was chasing Taylor for traffic offenses.

Taylor remains in custody with bail set at $500,000.