One Of The Suspects Arrested In Connection With Officer’s Death Enters Guilty Pleas

One of three men arrested in connection with a deadly pursuit that took the life of Bluffton police officer Dominic Francis pleaded guilty to the charges he was facing.

Dante Tate pleaded guilty to the charges of failure to comply and receiving stolen property in Medina County Common Pleas Court.

He previously pleaded not guilty following his March 31st arrest.

Tate will be sentenced next month.

Two other suspects are being held at the Hancock County Jail, including Emin Johnson, the man authorities say was driving the stolen car that hit and killed Officer Francis on March 31st and who’s facing a variety of charges including aggravated vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter.

Court records show that he has a pretrial hearing set for August 3rd. See video from his arraignment in April below.

A backseat passenger, 21-year-old Zachary Love, pleaded not guilty to charges including the improper handling of a firearm in a vehicle and receiving stolen property.

Love has a pretrial hearing set for this week.

Authorities say the three were in a stolen car that was fleeing from police on Interstate 75 southbound around 2:30 a.m. on March 31st that struck and killed Bluffton police officer Dominic Francis.

Officer Francis was placing stop sticks on the highway in an effort to end the pursuit.

The three fled on foot and one stole a car and was later arrested in northeast Ohio in Elyria, in Medina County.