2021 Pickaway County shooting solved, man sentenced to prison

Pickaway County — A 2021 shooting was finally solved and the shooter was brought to justice just this month after years of work by Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office investigators.

On August 27, 2021, authorities responded to a shooting at 177 Neville St. Deputies secured the area identified as the east parking lot where a white semi-truck and a blue trailer were parked with their engines running and the driver’s door open. Evidence was found near the tractor-trailer, including a pair of Ohio State Buckeyes slides, a pool of blood and a Bic ink pen and bullet that marked the crime scene. The area was cordoned off and evidence markers were placed pending processing by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).

While other investigators began interviewing witnesses, photographs were taken of the crime scene. The victim, who was a person involved in a traffic accident, described the events leading up to the shooting. When the victim arrived at 177 Neville St. to drop off a trailer, he was shot in the foot by the male driver of the SUV, who then fled the scene with a female passenger.

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The victim, who was transported to Grant Medical Center, gave investigators permission to recover his truck’s dashboard camera/GPS unit. Analysis of the footage revealed the Pickaway Crossing incident and provided the vehicle’s license plate number, which was linked to an address in Columbus. Law enforcement was notified, but the vehicle was not located at the registered address, nor was the suspect.

Investigators learned that the possible suspect was Chad Craft and a female companion, who were drifters who often move from place to place manipulating people and cheating them out of money.

Pickaway County investigators followed up on many leads in the case, including contacting a sheriff’s office in Levy County, Florida, where the couple owned property. That lead in 2021 was also thwarted after Florida officials searched for the man at the scene and discovered he had been there but had disappeared. Several further attempts were made to contact that address, but Craft indicated an attempt to arrest him.

It wasn’t until 2023, when the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office was made aware that Craft was serving time in the Hamilton County Jail, that they were finally able to speak to the suspect. Craft told deputies he was not interested in speaking and wanted to seek counseling before speaking.

Because there was enough evidence for a possible conviction, Craft was charged with second-degree assault. In May 2024, he reached a plea deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. He was sentenced to 3 to 4 1/2 years (maximum sentence) in prison and mandatory post-release supervision of up to 3 years.