Suspect accused of shooting Middletown police officer moved to jail, faces judge

HAMILTON, Ohio (FOX19) - The suspect accused of shooting a Middletown police officer is now behind bars at the Butler County jail on several charges and is likely to face more soon.

Christopher Hubbard, 35, was moved from University of Cincinnati Medical Center to the jail Saturday.

He is held on three charges from the city of Hamilton and a holder from Fairfield police for a parole violation, jail officials say.

Hamilton police charged Hubbard with failure to comply with a signal of a police officer, obstructing official business and contempt of court.

His bond was set at $75,000 in a brief video arraignment Monday morning in Hamilton Municipal Court. He pleaded not guilty.

PREVIOUS: Middletown police officer, K-9 handler recovering after gunfight

Authorities say Hubbard got into a gunfight with police and deputies from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 31.

It started with a police chase from Middletown to Turtlecreek Township. Hubbard is a person of interest in an ongoing homicide investigation in Hamilton, according to Police Chief Craig Bucheit.

Law enforcement received information that Hubbard would “shoot it out with police” as the chase continued, the sheriff has said.

Several jurisdictions were involved in chase and shootout, including law enforcement from the cities of Middletown, Hamilton and Fairfield, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio State Highway Patrol, according to Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones.

Stop sticks were eventually deployed, and Hubbard’s vehicle came to a halt in the front yard of a home in the 2600 block of Mason Montgomery Road.

That’s where Hubbard is accused of shooting Middletown Officer Denny Jordan in his tricep, hand and leg. The officer is expected to recover.

His K-9, Koda, was nearly in the line of fire, but he was not hurt, according to a witness at the scene.

RELATED: Sheriff: Officer, suspect shot following chase through Warren Co. (VIDEO)

Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) is now handling the investigation.]

Hubbard has not been charged, at least so far, with shooting the Middletown officer.

The case is expected to be referred to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office for likely additional charges against Hubbard via indictment.

We reached out to Warren County Prosecutor Dave Fornshell for an update early Monday.

“No, I really don’t have any comment at this point in time," he responded. "I believe he’s being held on a parole violation so that takes the pressure off us to file a holding charge very quickly. We can let BCI get substantially further along in their investigation and may be able to present it directly to the grand jury as opposed to having to go through a preliminary hearing.”

Hubbard has a lengthy record including convictions in Butler County for burglary, receiving stolen property, theft, and attempted robbery, according to the sheriff’s office.

Video of the incident obtained by FOX19 NOW shows Jordan sent Koda to get the suspect out of the car. Koda was wearing a bullet-proof vest at the time.

In the video, Koda is seeing jumping at the car window even after the shooting starts, something his training prepared him for

For the first time since he was shot, Officer Jordan was back in limited action last week with Koda.

PREVIOUS: Middletown police officer, K-9 handler recovering after gunfight

Sheriff Richard Jones said Monday he hopes Hubbard is indicted on a charge of attempted murder on a police officer.

“I hope he gets everything coming to him that he’s got coming to him and more,” Jones said.

This incident prompted the outspoken sheriff to issue a news release warning: “You shoot at the police, expect us to shoot back.”

He took his blunt message national with recent appearances on FOX News and CNN, defending law enforcement officers everywhere and calling for people to “stop abusing the police.”

On Monday, Jones reiterated that: “We had a police officer killed in Cleveland. One of the officers in this county was shot. We had police officers shot in LA being ambushed, so you come here or anywhere in the country, it should be the same, period.”

Copyright 2020 WXIX. All rights reserved.