Munson Man Unhurt, Police Search for Suspect
A Chester Township Pizza Hut driver, Ronald Mansfield, 53, of Munson Township, thwarted an armed robbery Sunday night after grabbing the suspect’s gun and chasing him out of the restaurant at 12720 Chillicothe Road, according to several 911 calls into the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office dispatch.
A female employee first alerted a sheriff’s office dispatcher of a crime in progress when she called 911 before 8 p.m. Aug. 16.
“I walked in the door and there was a man with a gun,” she said at about 7:55 p.m., adding she turned around and went back to her car to call from the Giant Eagle parking lot.
She described the suspect as “black, skinny, about 6 feet tall, with a fisherman’s hat.” The gun was black, she said.
The next call was from a man who saw the suspect race down Opalocka Drive.
“He’s on foot and running … literally by the police department,” he said.
The suspect was in all dark clothing and a white hat, he added.
Three calls followed as witnesses informed dispatchers of the fleeing robber’s progress. The Pizza Hut manager also called 911.
“A man came in with a gun and tried to rob us,” she said. “My driver grabbed the gun and the guy ran out.”
“Our phones are lighting up,” the dispatcher told the manager and several other calls were answered as law enforcement started searching for the robber. The manhunt when on until 11:30 a.m. Monday, Chester Police Chief Mark Purchase said.
Sheriff’s dispatch received a 911 call from an unidentified individual at 8 p.m. that a white male (Mansfield) was seen chasing a black male through Parkside Park. Mansfield yelled for someone to call 911 for help because the suspect tried to rob his store, according to the blotter.
He stopped running, out of breath, in the park and said he had the suspect’s gun and the suspect ran behind Bada Bing Pizza at 12701 Chillicothe Road.
At 8:08 p.m., the blotter shows a man was seen running behind The Loretta Paganini School of Cooking on state Route 322 toward the Cleveland Electric Illuminating substation near the power lines.
Another witness said the suspect was seen with a black shirt and black shorts, according to the sheriff’s blotter and a caller said he saw a black vehicle on state Route 322 with black males in it, one of whom wore a white shirt.
The search continued and an Ohio State Highway Patrol helicopter was reported enroute at 12:20 a.m. Aug. 17.
Chester Township Police are investigating the attempted armed robbery and still searching for “the dark-skinned black man” who came into the restaurant brandishing a firearm,” Purchase said.
Multiple agencies, including the sheriff’s office, OSHP, and police from South Russell Village, Kirtland and Kirtland Hills assisted in the search for the suspect, he said.
No money was taken and none of the four employees on the property were injured, Purchase said, adding there were no customers on the premises.
There has been no arrest, but the investigation is ongoing, Purchase said Aug. 17.
Pizza Hut is part of the West Geauga Plaza, owned by Thomas and Catherine Basista of Chagrin Falls. The name of the franchise owner was not available.
