Man accused of escaping, stealing cars is arrested

1/1/2017

A man accused of escaping from custody in Michigan and then stealing cars over a six-day period was taken into custody early this morning in Williams County, according to the Williams County Sheriff’s Office.

Jade Herzog, 41, was captured near Kunkle, Ohio, shortly after midnight, after he allegedly tried to ram a Williams County Sheriff’s Office vehicle and then crashed in a ditch on County Road 0 between count roads 16 and 15.

Authorities said he was in “protective observation” at Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, and faces multiple felony charges along with the previous drug charges in Hillsdale County, Michigan.

Authorities said Herzog on Dec. 26 walked away from Hillsdale Hospital where he was on medical leave.

On Dec. 29, he is believed to have stolen a vehicle from Stryker, Ohio, and driven to Kunkle, where authorities believe he subsequently entered a home of people he knew and took a cell phone. Sheriff’s deputies said the stolen vehicle was spotted around noon Dec. 30 at Lake Seneca in northern Williams County.

After that, Herzog is believed to have stolen a vehicle from Lake Seneca. The sheriff’s office also believes Herzog stole items from vehicles in Hillsdale and Branch counties in Michigan, and in Steuben County, Indiana. Sheriff Steven Towns said Herzog found cars with the keys in the ignition.

Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, Herzog tried to use a stolen credit card at a motel on Ohio Rt. 108 near the Wauseon exit of the Ohio Turnpike, authorities said. A clerk alerted the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office but Herzog got away before sheriff’s deputies and Wauseon Police arrived, authorities said.

In trying to get away, Herzog rammed a Wauseon Police vehicle and started a pursuit that took him into Williams County, county officials said.

Herzog is believed to have stolen a vehicle about 12:15 a.m. from a residence near an Alvordton, Ohio. Authorities claim he drove to Alvordton, where they say he stole another vehicle. That vehicle became disabled and so he stole yet another vehicle, according to the sheriff’s department news release.

Aided by citizen tips, Williams County deputies located Herzog driving a pickup truck, which he used to try to ran a deputy sheriff’s vehicle. A tire blew on the pickup truck, Herzog lost control, and the vehicle crashed in a ditch.

Sheriff Towns said he did not believe Herzog suffered significant injuries in the crash.

Herzog was convicted of grand theft of a vehicle in Williams County in 2014. According to the Hillsdale News, Herzog pleaded guilty in Hillsdale County Circuit Court in November to possession of methamphetamine.

Contact Tom Troy: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058 or on Twitter @TomFTroy.