The Akron man who went on a wild bumper car spree and made threats against Cuyahoga Falls police -- leaving one patrolman fighting to recover to return to the job after a crash trapped him in his crusier -- is now indicted.
46-year old Donald Watson of Cutler Parkway faces multiple charges including attempted murder, assault and arson for the July 23rd attack on cars parked in the Falls police lot, then ramming into a cruiser driven by Patrolman Ted Davis. Davis spent a week in the hospital; both men needed medical treatment.
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(Summit Prosecutor) Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced today that a Summit County Grand Jury has indicted Donald Watson, 46, of Cutler Parkway in Akron, for an incident which resulted in a Cuyahoga Falls police officer being severely injured.
Watson was indicted on the following charges:
Attempted Murder – a felony of the 1st degree
Two counts of Felonious Assault – felonies of the 1st degree
Aggravated Arson – a felony of the 2nd degree
Failure to Comply with Order of a Police Officer – a felony of the 3rd degree
Vandalism – a felony of the 4th degree
Criminal Damaging or Endangering – a misdemeanor of the 1st degree
Mr. Watson is accused of driving into several vehicles, as well as a number of Cuyahoga Falls police cruisers parked police department's parking lot in the early morning hours of Saturday, July 23, 2016. Cuyahoga Falls police officers pursued the suspect through city streets. The suspect vehicle, travelling at high speeds east on Broad Boulevard, crossed over into the westbound lanes and slammed into a Cuyahoga Falls police cruiser driven by Officer Theodore Davis. The driver of the suspect vehicle, Donald Watson, was arrested.
Officer Davis was trapped inside his police cruiser and suffered significant injuries. The 11-year veteran of the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department also spent nearly a week in the hospital.
Watson is also accused of starting a fire at his Akron home.
Donald Watson is scheduled to be arraigned in Summit County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 8am.