A man who was shot at after nearly running into a police officer during a high speed chase will be tried before a jury in December.
On Sept. 24, Samuel William Lott, 18, and Jacob Bowens, 19, were stopped by police in connection to a string of vehicle thefts. The men then led police on a high-speed chase through the city of Athens.
After nearly running into one of the three officers involved in the chase, one of the officers shot at the vehicle, injuring Lott. Lott crashed the car on State Route 550.
Lott was transferred to a hospital in Columbus. No officers were injured in the chase.
Lott, from Nelsonville, and Bowens, from Carbon Hill, appeared in court Wednesday morning before Judge Patrick J. Lang. Lang set bond for Lott at $500,000 and scheduled a jury trial for Dec. 6. Bowens' bond was set at $100,000. He will appear before the jury Nov. 29.
The two men were indicted before the Athens Country Grand Jury on Sept. 26 for receiving stolen property and failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer. After an investigation by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the cases were resubmitted to the court.
On Wednesday, the two men pleaded not guilty to the two previous felonies, along with felonious assault. Both men are currently being held in the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail.