DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — The Warren County Prosecutor has closed the office’s investigation regarding a Middletown officer-involved shooting in February.
Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell announced on Friday that the office’s investigation into the deadly officer-involved shooting that killed Victor Lee Lykins is now over. On Saturday, Feb. 25, a Middletown police officer conducted a traffic stop around 5:30 p.m. of a 2008 Jeep Commander.
The vehicle turned into the Walmart parking lot in the 2900 block of Towne Blvd. in Middletown.
Lykins was identified as the brother of the driver of the Jeep, and Lykins was the passenger inside of the Jeep. A release from the prosecutor’s office says Lykins provided false information to the Middletown police officer. The driver of the Jeep was removed from the vehicle and correctly identified Lykins, which Lykins reportedly had an active warrant.
The passenger in the Jeep was asked to exit the vehicle, refused and reportedly displayed a revolver. A struggle happened between a Middletown officer and Lykins, where the officer was trying to get control of the revolver. Another officer fired two rounds into the Jeep, as the officer “indicating that he feared for his partner’s safety,” and struck Lykins in the head and back.
Lykins was pronounced dead at the scene.
“BCI’s crime scene investigators located Lykins’ Burgo 22 LR double action revolver on the ground next to his body,” the release said. “The revolver contained eight 22 LR rounds.”
The BCI conducted a subsequent interview with the driver, who reportedly said during the traffic stop the passenger had said he did not want to return to jail and threatened to harm himself. The driver of the Jeep went on to say Lykins “grabbed the revolver” from the back seat of the Jeep and placed it between his legs before a Middletown police officer returned to the vehicle, according to the release.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office conducted the autopsy and determined Lykins’s cause of death was caused by “multiple gunshot wounds.”
2 NEWS reached out to Ohio BCI for comment. A representative for the bureau tells 2 NEWS the investigation by Ohio BCI was completed and referred to the Warren County Prosecutor on Tuesday, March 28.
