Seville police arrested a man following a 45-minute highway standoff when the man left his vehicle willingly so he could urinate on the side of the road, according to reports.
Brett Filous, 35, of Lodi, was charged with aggravated robbery. He’s being held at the Medina County Jail on $750,000 bond, said Seville police Chief Don Burson.
The chief said Filous is accused of robbing a convenience store in Seville just before 2 p.m. Wednesday.
“The store clerk said he set some beer on the counter and asked for some cigarettes,” Burson said. “When she turned back to face him, he was pointing a gun at her.”
The clerk said she had no money to give him, and said Filous told her didn’t want money — he wanted gasoline. She turned on the gas pump and said Filous demanded she go with him. She refused, and he allegedly held her and several customers at gunpoint before fleeing in an SUV with the beer and cigarettes. It’s unclear if he ever pumped any gasoline.
The clerk called police, who had two cruisers near the convenience store. Officers followed the SUV north on state Route 3 toward Interstate 76. Filous turned onto I-76 eastbound, where officers attempted to perform a traffic stop. However, Filous refused to follow officer orders, and police — who had received reports he had a gun — opted to close the highway while they attempted to arrest him.
The highway was shut down in both directions for about 45 minutes. Burson said officers attempted to communicate with him and viewed him drinking the beer he had taken from the store.
The standoff ended when Filous exited and began urinating on the side of the road while remaining in his vehicle’s doorway, police reported. He was taken to the ground by a police dog, and officers located a loaded .45-caliber handgun and the stolen beer and cigarettes inside the vehicle.
Filous was transported to Medina Hospital for treatment of the wounds inflicted by the dog. He was then taken to the jail.
Burson said he was thankful that was the only injury.
“It certainly had the potential of ending very badly,” he said. “I’m very pleased to see it was handled well by everyone involved.”
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ.