FOSTORIA, Ohio — A 22-year-old man was booked into the Seneca County Jail early Tuesday after a 911 caller reported shots fired at an occupied mobile home at Fostoria Mobile Estates on North Township Road 63, touching off a pursuit that ended in Fostoria, according to Seneca County Sheriff’s Office dispatch logs.
As of Tuesday evening, Ethan Mercado is being held on a felony charge of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, a violation of Ohio Revised Code 2923.16, according to Seneca County Jail booking staff.
The incident began shortly after midnight, when a vehicle repeatedly passed the residence on North Township Road 63 while shots were fired toward it, according to Seneca County Sheriff’s Office dispatch logs. The vehicle left the area and was later stopped by Fostoria police within city limits.
Seneca County sheriff’s deputies and Fostoria police were both involved in the response. No injuries were reported.
Under Ohio law, discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle is a fourth-degree felony. Other violations under the same statute, including improper transport of a firearm, are misdemeanors. Jail staff confirmed Mercado’s charge is a felony but did not specify which subsection applies.
Mercado is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
UPDATE: New details have been released. Read the updated story here. FOSTORIA, Ohio — A 22 year old man was booked into the Seneca County Jail early Tuesday after a 911 caller reported shots fired at an occupied mobile home at Fostoria Mobile Estates on North Township Road 63, touching off a pursuit that ended in Fostoria, according to Seneca County Sheriff's Office dispatch logs. As of Tuesday evening, Ethan Mercado is being held on a felony charge of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, a violation of Ohio Revised Code 2923.16, according to Seneca County Jail booking staff. Ethan Mercado. (Photo: Seneca County Jail) The incident began shortly after midnight, when a vehicle repeatedly passed the residence on North Township Road 63 while shots were fired toward it, according to Seneca County Sheriff's Office dispatch logs. The vehicle left the area and was later stopped by Fostoria police within city limits. Seneca County sheriff's deputies and Fostoria police were both involved in the response. No injuries were reported. Under Ohio law, discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle is a fourth degree felony. Other violations under the same statute, including improper transport of a firearm, are misdemeanors. Jail staff confirmed Mercado's charge is a felony but did not specify which subsection applies. Mercado is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Continue reading for free.
Sign up for TiffinOhio.net's free newsletter to continue. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
The state's investigation remains open and the deputies unnamed, while the sheriff's legal citation on vehicles as deadly weapons misstates the Ohio statute it quotes.
The state's investigation remains open and the deputies unnamed, while the sheriff's legal citation on vehicles as deadly weapons misstates the Ohio statute it quotes.
The 43-year-old man allegedly displayed knives and attempted to drive away before deputies fired, according to the Sheriff's Office account now under state investigation.
The 43-year-old man allegedly displayed knives and attempted to drive away before deputies fired, according to the Sheriff's Office account now under state investigation.
Cain, fired by the Highway Patrol in June, faces a third-degree felony strangulation charge and a domestic violence misdemeanor after the May 19 incident at his Tiffin home.
Cain, fired by the Highway Patrol in June, faces a third-degree felony strangulation charge and a domestic violence misdemeanor after the May 19 incident at his Tiffin home.
