North Olmsted, Ohio – On January 21, 2026, at approximately 3:03 p.m., Elyria police responded to an armed robbery of a Brinks employee at an AT&T store on West River Road North in Elyria. The suspect, 37-year-old John P. Johnson of Lorain, forced the driver into the vehicle at gunpoint, took cash, and fled in a black Hyundai.
Multiple agencies pursued the vehicle through Lorain and Elyria at speeds over 100 mph into North Olmsted. Officers deployed tire spikes, and the vehicle crashed at Brookpark Road and Columbia Road. Johnson exited holding a pistol and ran to a Clareshire Drive apartment complex.
He forced resident Alia Aboalodos, home with her four children, inside at gunpoint. Ring camera footage showed him pushing her into the residence. An Elyria officer moved children trom the doorway and forced the door open. The officer reported seeing the barrel of Johnson’s handgun pointed toward him. Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation video analysis found the first of 15 gunshots occurred less than a second after the breach, with the fifteenth about 3.85 seconds later.
A second officer recovered a .45-caliber Glock from beneath Johnson’s right hip; it was operable but unfired. BCI confirmed the officer’s 9mm Glock fired the casings and projectiles recovered from the apartment and Johnson’s body. EMS transported Johnson to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No officers or civilians were injured.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigated. On August 11, 2026, a Cuyahoga County grand jury returned a no bill, declining charges against Elyria Police Officer Ali Sabeiha.
Criminal history: In 2013, Johnson was convicted in Lorain County of aggravated robbery and robbery and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In 2025, he was convicted of felony marijuana trafficking, possession, and weapons charges and remained on community control through June 2028.
Sources: Elyria Police Department, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office
