Staff reports

BETHEL TOWNSHIP — Two Dayton men have been arrested and charged following a chase that ended in a crash.

At approximately midnight on Monday, a Miami County Sheriff’s Office deputy attempted to stop a 2009 gray Pontiac G5 in the area of State Route 201 and Ross Road in Bethel Township for a traffic violation, according to a report.

The vehicle fled from the deputy northbound on State Route 201 at speeds reaching 100 mph, the report said. The vehicle crashed into a farm field at the intersection of State Route 201 and State Route 55. Both occupants survived the crash and were treated for minor injuries.

The vehicle was found to have been reported stolen to the Dayton Police Department. The driver, Jeffrey Cooper, 59, of Dayton, was incarcerated in the Miami County Jail and charged with fleeing and eluding, receiving stolen property, failure to reinstate license, and reckless operation.

Cooper told deputies he had been smoking crack for six straight weeks and that he and his passenger, Harvey Baker, 65, of Dayton, had been on their way to Walmart to commit retail theft.

Baker had an outstanding warrant on him for passing bad checks out of Hamilton County and was also incarcerated in the Miami County Jail, according to the report.