Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 2, 2026
Prison Sentence Imposed Following High-Speed Chase in Zanesville
(ZANESVILLE, OH)
On July 1, 2026, Gunner Lent, 20, appeared in the Muskingum Court of Common Pleas before Judge Gerald Anderson to be sentenced for charges that stem from Lent leading an Ohio State Highway Trooper on a high-speed chase through Zanesville.
Lent previously admitted guilt and was sentenced for the following: Failure to Comply with an Order or Signal of a Police Officer, Tampering with Evidence, Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol, a Drug of Abuse or Combination of Them, Falsification, Possession of Marijuana, and Failure to Comply with Opened Container of Beer or Liquor Laws.
Judge Anderson sentenced Lent to 33 months in prison.
Details of the Case:
On March 22, 2026, at approximately 1am, Trooper Sabo with the Ohio State Highway Patrol observed a gray vehicle turning northbound on Linden Avenue. Trooper Sabo began to follow the vehicle to observe driving behavior.
As the vehicle turned, it cut a corner, coming within a couple feet of the curbed sidewalk. The vehicle then made multiple lane violations. The vehicle then began to increase its speed to create distance between itself and Trooper Sabo. The suspect vehicle was reported driving 45 MPH in a 35 MPH zone.
Trooper Sabo continued to observe the vehicle drive recklessly, nearly driving onto the sidewalk more than once. Finally, the suspect came to a red light and failed to stop behind the stop bar. Trooper Sabo activated his emergency overhead lights. The suspect vehicle failed to stop the vehicle and instead fled from the trooper who reached a top speed of 60 MPH in attempt to catch up to the suspect vehicle.
The suspect continued to evade the trooper before finally crashing off the roadway and into an unoccupied vehicle sending it into an AEP utility pole and striking another parked vehicle. Trooper Sabo checked the suspect vehicle and found that the driver fled the scene. Located in the vehicle was Lent’s ID, several empty alcoholic containers and a bag of what would later be confirmed as marijuana.
Lent was located and Trooper Sabo detected a strong odor of alcohol and slow mumbled speech from Lent. Lent refused a field sobriety test as well as a chemical breath test when booked into the Zanesville City Jail.
“This case should have been a typical OVI stop but Lent’s actions to take law enforcement on a high-speed chase endangered our community and easily could have killed someone,” said Assistant Prosecutor John Dever, who handled the case. “Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt here. The Court’s sentence fairly reflected the seriousness of Lent’s actions and responsibility Lent took by pleading guilty.”
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