Zanesville Police Release More Details About Amber Alert Suspect
Zanesville, OH-
A 46-year-old Zanesville man is currently in a Pennsylvania jail without bail, suspected of taking a vehicle from Zanesville with two small children in it.
The incident prompted an Amber Alert for three-year-old Iszak Shamblin and one-year-old Kale Clark. The suspect, Thomas Pritchard, is currently charged in Washington, Pennsylvania with driving under the influence of alcohol, endangering children, reckless endangerment and receiving stolen property. He’s charged locally with kidnapping and grand theft of a motor vehicle. There will be a process to get him back in Ohio to face his charges that Detective Sergeant of the Zanesville Police Department, Phil Michel, told us about.
“He has been charged with the driving offenses in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Ultimately, he will be extradited back to Ohio. Whether or not he waives an extradition hearing has yet to be seen. We just have to wait on that, and go from there.”
Zanesville police say around 5:15 pm Thursday, a woman was dropping off a child at a business on main street, when she left her vehicle running with the two children in it. When she returned, she found the vehicle had been taken. Detectives and officers reviewed surveillance video and followed up on tips and a potential suspect was identified. Detectives also attempted to obtain the direction of travel of the car. Pennsylvania state police, along with the Washington police, stopped the vehicle with Pritchard inside around 7:55 pm. Authorities say a vigilant citizen saw the vehicle in Washington, Pennsylvania, because of the Amber Alert that was issued.
“The Amber Alert System is extremely important, in this instance, it worked out how it was intended to. The person received the alert, actually took note of that, saw the vehicle, saw it had an Ohio license plate, and contacted authorities in Pennsylvania, and they were able to recover the children safely,” Michel said.
Zanesville police said Pritchard does have a prior record. They also said to always secure your vehicle, and if you are not in sight of your children, to make sure you take them out of the car and inside with you. Zanesville Police said they are not releasing details on the motive yet.
