Charter Oak man faces 30 years in prison

A former Charter Oak man faces more than 30 years in prison after his conviction for hitting a police officer with his car and trying to run down the Crawford County Sheriff. Thirty-four-year-old Jason “Jake” Powell was convicted Thursday by a Crawford County jury on four separate charges, including attempted murder. The charges stem from an incident back on February 12th in which Powell allegedly stole a pickup truck from a Denison residence. A sheriff’s deputy recognized Powell while on routine patrol. When the deputy attempted to stop Powell, Powell sped away. A Denison police officer joined the pursuit and Powell rammed his squad car. Later Powell tried to run down Sheriff Tom Hogan, who had set up stop sticks to try and slow him down. Powell later abandoned the pickup in a field and was captured. In addition to the attempted murder charge, Powell was also convicted on charges of second-degree theft, eluding and assault on a peach officer. Powell is scheduled to be sentenced on October 10th.