Source: United States Department of Justice News
Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that a federal jury returned guilty verdicts on Friday, April 15, 2022, against Defendant Joe L. Fletcher III, 33, of Akron, Ohio, following a five-day trial before U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr., in Cleveland. Fletcher was convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on June 24, 2020, law enforcement officers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol attempted to initiate a traffic stop of a vehicle Fletcher was driving on Interstate 77 in Copley, Ohio. Fletcher refused to stop, and led Troopers on a high-speed chase, reaching speeds of more than 110 miles per hour.
Fletcher then fled from his vehicle on foot into a wooded swamp area. Fletcher used his cell phone to stream his flight live over the internet. During his flight, Fletcher threatened to shoot law enforcement. Troopers arrested Fletcher in the swamp area. Law enforcement recovered approximately 40 grams of crack cocaine in the wooded area and recovered a loaded, AK-style, semiautomatic rifle from Fletcher’s vehicle.
Fletcher is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to prior felony convictions for drug trafficking in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas and felon in possession of a firearm in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
On September 24, 2020, Fletcher was charged with a separate offense of being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to the indictment and court documents, on September 8, 2020, during his arrest on federal charges, Fletcher led police on another vehicle chase, during which he discarded a Glock model 17 firearm which was later recovered by law enforcement. That case remains ongoing.
On September 30, 2021, Fletcher was charged with escape from custody of the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center (NEOCC). According to the indictment, on or about August 18, 2021, Fletcher allegedly escaped from custody in the NEOCC and was later apprehended on August 20. This case also remains ongoing.
Fletcher is scheduled to be sentenced on August 9, 2022, and faces a statutory maximum penalty of life in prison.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the ONSET Task Force; the Ohio State Highway Patrol; the Copley Police Department; and the Akron Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter E. Daly and Aaron P. Howell.