MIDDLETOWN — There was no panhandler; there was no shooting in Middletown.
In fact, Middletown police confirmed 36-year-old Ryan Johnson, of Benninghofen Avenue in Hamilton, suffered his gunshot wounds Wednesday night in Dayton. He is paralyzed from the neck down at University Hospital, police said.
Middletown police Sgt. David Birk said the driver of a red Chevrolet HHR, Andrew Branson, 33, also of Hamilton, fabricated the story that Johnson was shot while in the car at the southbound entrance ramp to Interstate 75 at Ohio 122 by a white man in his 40s, wearing a white shirt and cap, and holding a sign asking for money.
The duo had reportedly driven to Dayton, where Branson allegedly entered a house on Main Street for a drug deal as Johnson waited in the car, Winters said.
A few moments later, Branson ran to the car, saying he stole the drugs, according to police. The duo fled the scene around 10:30 p.m. and were chased by a white sport-utility vehicle, from which shots were fired at Branson’s Chevrolet, at least one of them hitting Johnson, according to Middletown police Detective Steve Winters.
“They hopped on the highway after the shooting and went as far away from Dayton as they could,” Birk said. “There was no panhandler; it’s a false story.”
Johnson was driven to West Chester Hospital around 11 p.m., and from there flown to University Hospital, police said.
Birk said Winters was talking with Dayton police detectives about the incident.
Branson, who is uninjured, is facing multiple charges, including obstructing, falsification and inducing panic, Burke said. Middletown police will talk to the prosecutor’s office about charges against Johnson, Burke said.
Police scoured the city early Thursday looking for a suspect based on Branson’s story, but found no one that matched the description of the suspect.
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