WILMINGTON — A local woman is facing four felony indictments relative to an incident where a Wilmington police officer was hurt.
A Clinton County Grand Jury indicted Zoe Nichole Scanlon, 23 of Wilmington, on these four charges: two counts of felonious assault (both first-degree felony charges); resisting arrest (an F4); and failing to comply with an order or signal of a police officer (an F3).
An affidavit filed in court by Wilmington Police Detective Scott Baker states WPD Officers Morgan Wages and Patrick Black were riding as a double unit in a marked patrol vehicle when they made a traffic stop Nov. 8 on a 1991 pickup truck for an alleged unsafe vehicle violation.
During the traffic stop, Scanlon allegedly gave false information of her identity to Wages. However, Wages reportedly recognized her and questioned her about her identity, after which she admitted who she is.
After a warrants check, Wages learned Scanlon had an active warrant for her arrest for a probation violation stemming from a summer 2020 conviction for having an unauthorized concealed firearm.
According to the affidavit, Wages informed Scanlon she was under arrest and started to place handcuffs on her. Scanlon reportedly was still sitting in the driver seat and “quickly started the vehicle.”
Wages stated he observed pedestrians in the area of the path Scanlon was attempting to flee, adds the affidavit. Wages was at the driver side door with it open and was concerned the driver would hit the pedestrians, “and decided to intervene by grabbing the steering column or gearshift to prevent an accident with pedestrians.”
The affidavit continues, “Zoe [the driver] excessively accelerated eastbound on West Locust Street from Swindler’s parking lot with Officer Wages attached to the vehicle. Zoe drove the vehicle into the building of Dominos Pizza causing a considerable amount of damage. Upon crashing into Dominos, Officer Wages’ body was vertical from the rapid acceleration from start to end and crashed into the driver side door and building head first.”
Scanlon then allegedly placed the vehicle into reverse to flee the scene while Wages was lying on the ground next to the vehicle, the affidavit states.
“Officer Patrick Black unholstered his duty weapon intending to use deadly force on Zoe Scanlon. Officer Black stated while aiming for the suspect to stop the threat, he noticed innocent vehicles and pedestrians in the background, causing Officer Black to halt using deadly force as to not cause injury to innocent persons in the area,” stated the affidavit.
When Officer Black tried to communicate with Officer Wages, he was incoherent and concussed, according to the affidavit. Wages was transported to CMH by Officer Black in a patrol vehicle.
Scanlon reportedly fled the scene and was not immediately located; she is presently incarcerated in the Clinton County Jail. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Friday in the Clinton County Common Pleas Courtroom.
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.
