Marshals: Suspect in high speed crash that killed Youngstown woman found hiding in a basement
YOUNGSTOWN - More than eight months after a Youngstown woman died in a violent crash on Youngstown’s Westside, authorities have made an arrest.
Jaquan Jenkins of Youngstown, 23, of Youngstown has been jailed in connection with the December 1 traffic death of Kaitlyn Cefalde.
According to Northern Ohio U.S. Marshals Service Assistant Chief, Anne Murphy, Jenkins was found in the basement of a home on Upland Avenue hiding under blankets and a tarp.
Murphy says other people were in the house where Jenkins was found, but says it's up to Youngstown police officers if they are charged for harboring a fugitive.
Youngstown Police Captain Jason Simon says it will require more investigating but it's possible they could get charged.
"Hopefully today is a little bit easier of a day for the victims knowing that he's behind bars and he's not out just running around," Murphy said.
The 2018 Ursuline High School graduate, who would have turned 23 next month, died after the Cadillac she was riding in went off Mahoning Avenue, striking a sign and a mailbox near the West Side Merchants office near South Bon Air Avenue.
The car, which police say had been traveling 90 miles per hour, split in half, ejecting both Cefalde and Jenkins, who were both hospitalized. Cefalde died at the hospital.
On Tuesday, U.S. Marshals arrested Jenkins, who investigators believe was driving the Cadillac at the time of the crash.
Jenkins was booked into the county jail on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter as a result of a felony, failure to comply with the order of a police officer, and OVI.
Online Mahoning County Court records don’t yet show Jenkins charged with vehicular homicide or involuntary manslaughter. However, the Mahoning County Grand Jury handed up a secret indictment against a “John Doe” with those same charges on March 30.
The Cadillac was involved in a pursuit in Austintown Township just moments before the deadly crash.
According to an Austintown Police report, township officers were sent to Westchester Drive and Idaho Road the night of the crash where Jenkins and Cefalde were reported to be having an argument in Cefalde's Cadillac.
An officer who pulled the car over on Mahoning Avenue reported that it didn't appear that the two had been fighting.
However, upon learning that there was a warrant out for Jenkins' arrest, the officer ordered Jenkins to turn off the car's ignition. That's when Jenkins sped away along Mahoning Avenue, according to police.
The officer says he lost sight of the speeding car near Raccoon Road. Efforts by other police to flatten the car's tires using spiked stop strips failed. Because of the speed involved, officers were ordered to discontinue the pursuit as the Cadillac continued into Youngstown's Westside where it crashed.
Police charged Jenkins with failure to comply with a police order and obstructing official business. The charges were dropped in March when officials learned that the case was being investigated by the grand jury.
In 2020, Jenkins was sentenced to perform three days of community service after pleading guilty to obstructing official business in Austintown. In July of last year, Jenkins was sent to jail for 80 days for a probation violation.
