Fleeing suspect indicted

HURON TWP. — A man who allegedly fled from deputies in October was recently indicted. Ian J. Flores, 51, of the 500 block of Dorthy Lane, Youngstown, is facing two fourth-degree felony counts of vandalism, one fourth-degree felony count of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and two first-degree misdemeanor counts of OVI. At a March 31 arraignment, Flores pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was assigned a 10 a.m. pretrial on May 26 in Erie County Common Pleas Court Judge Beverly McGookey's court. Flores is out of jail on a $20,000 signature bond. That means he was allowed to sign himself out of jail and agree to show up for all court dates. Background Just before 4 a.m. on Oct. 19, deputies were alerted that a vehicle had driven through and struck the main gate at Cedar Point before it continued southbound on the chaussee, according to an Erie County Sheriff's Office report. Cedar Point security stated they were behind the vehicle on the chaussee at speeds nearing 70 mph. The posted speed limit there is 30 mph. Soon after approaching the intersection, a deputy saw a black Lexus sedan with front-end damage, the report states. A deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the Lexus reportedly fled eastbound on Cleveland Road. Flores allegedly continued to ignore the lights and sirens from the deputy. He eventually slowed and made a southbound turn onto Rye Beach Road before finally coming to a stop past a stationary Huron police cruiser, the report states. At that point, Flores was pulled from the vehicle and arrested. He agreed to perform sobriety tests but could only complete an eye test. He could not do the others due to his level of intoxication, the report states. He was offered multiple chances to submit a breath alcohol sample but stopped in the middle of the test so he was marked as a refusal. When running a criminal conviction history on Flores, deputies discovered OVI convictions in 2001, 2005 and 2023.