Clements allegedly threatened to kill his girlfriend, who came to the Middletown police lobby on Tuesday to report the threats, according to Middletown Municipal Court records. The woman told police Clements had punched her and strangled her in the past and she was in fear for her life.
The woman said Clements told her if she did not return to the residence on Beech Street in Middletown, that “everything will go up on flames.” When officers went to the residence the house was on fire, according to the court complaint. Witnesses said the man had just run out the back door.
Addresses listed for Clements in court records are on Beech and a Clayton address. Arson is a fourth-degree felony and domestic violence and aggravated menacing are both first-degree misdemeanors.
The Clayton officer was shot Thursday afternoon while trying to arrest a person on a warrant, leading to a SWAT standoff.
Officers were attempting to find a person who faced a warrant around 1:45 p.m. in the 300 block of Hacker Road. When they arrived at the house, the suspect ran inside and to the second story, Clayton police Chief Matthew Hamlin said.
“They went upstairs to try to make contact with him,” he said. “Once they got upstairs the subject started shooting.”
The Clayton officer was shot in the arm and taken to Miami Valley Hospital. He was in stable condition and was in surgery late Thursday afternoon, Hamlin said. No other officers were injured.
Hamlin said there was a family in the home at the time of the incident, including two adults and two children.
The house was evacuated — with at least one person jumping from a second-story window — except for the shooter, who was barricaded inside, the chief said.
Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck said Thursday that Montgomery County Regional SWAT was attempting to engage, with assistance from Dayton SWAT and Clayton Police before the suspect died.
SWAT teams left shortly before 5 p.m., Thursday after which the sheriff’s office confirmed the suspect was found dead of a gunshot wound that was described as self-inflicted.
The suspect’s name was released today by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
Dayton Daily News staff contributed to this report.
About the Author
