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Suspects plead guilty to charges in death of Bluffton police officer Dominic Francis

Emin Johnson, Zachary Love and Dante have all pleaded guilty to charges in the death of Francis, who was struck by a vehicle on I-75 during a pursuit in March 2022.

BLUFFTON, Ohio — All three men charged in the death of Bluffton police officer Dominic Francis have pleaded guilty.

According to Findlay-based radio station WFIN, Emin Johnson, 21, pleaded guilty to six charges including tampering with evidence and involuntary manslaughter on Tuesday in the Hancock County Common Pleas Court.

Johnson was sentenced to 21 to 26-and-a-half years in prison, according to WFIN.

Johnson is the last of the three men -- including Dante Tate and Zachary Love -- to plead guilty to the charges. Prosecutors alleged the three led police on a chase and hit and killed Francis while he was attempting to deploy stop sticks during the pursuit along I-75.

Love pleaded guilty on March 16 in the Hancock County Common Pleas Court to one count of tampering with evidence, one count of having weapons while under disability and one count of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle.

He will be sentenced on May 24 and faces a maximum of seven-and-a-half years in prison and a maximum fine of $15,000.

Tate pleaded guilty on Feb. 21 to charges of receiving stolen property and complicity of receiving stolen property. Prosecutors dropped charges of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle and theft of a motor vehicle. 

He was sentenced to 30 months in prison to be served consecutively with a previous prison sentence of two years he received in August by a Medina County judge after pleading guilty to charges of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and receiving stolen property.

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