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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A man arrested after a high speed chase, which resulted in the discovery of nearly 80 grams of suspected drugs, has been tied to a July shooting in which a two-year-old toddler was severely injured.
According to court records, Columbus police observed a silver Jeep Cherokee parked in the area of Cleveland Avenue and East 13th Street at around 8:45 p.m. on Sept. 5. After running the vehicles tag, the Jeep came back stolen, and police saw 21-year-old Xavior McGrapth exit the Jeep and head into a corner store.
The police report states that McGrapth left the store and drove southbound on Cleveland Ave. The officers followed McGrapth in their police cruiser and attempted to pull the Jeep over, but McGrapth drove the Jeep at a high rate of speed.
The chase lasted only a few blocks as a CPD helicopter observed the Jeep crash into a detached garage in the 900 block of East 11th Avenue. Police engaged in a brief foot chase before arresting McGrapth.
A search of the Jeep revealed a backpack in the back seat, which contained 26.8 grams of suspected cocaine, 28.4 grams of suspected methamphetamine and 22.5 grams of suspected fentanyl. The total combined weight of all suspected drugs was 77.7 grams. Officers also recovered a handgun under a tree where McGrapth ran away from police.
He was charged with drug possession, having weapons under disability, felony fleeing, and tampering with evidence and placed in Franklin County Jail.
As a result of this investigation, combined with the investigation of a July shooting in which a two-year-old was struck in the head, police were able to additionally charge McGrapth, with felonious assault.
Police report that on July 7, officers were called to the 4200 block of Carlton Avenue on reports of a shooting in the city’s Mid East neighborhood of Leawood. The victim, a two-year-old boy, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head.
The investigating to the shooting led witnesses to help police identify McGrapth as the alleged shooter. Police detectives said that a witness confirmed that McGrapth was in the passenger seat of a 2006 Toyota Camry, which was located shortly after the shooting.
McGrapth allegedly told the driver of the car to turn around after he recognized some people standing on the porch of a residence on Carlton Ave. That’s when, police said, McGrapth pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and began firing at the group of people. The child was struck in the head as a result of the shooting.
On Tuesday, McGrapth appeared before a Franklin County municipal judge, who issued a $1 million bond for felonious assault charge, $250,000 for the drug charge, $1,500 for the weapons charge, and $300 for a pair of traffic misdemeanors. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Sept. 19.
