The Trumbull County coroner has ruled homicide in the shooting death of a Girard man, who was on the run from authorities.

Fred Wild III, 50, of Keefer Road, was surrounded by law officers the morning of March 21 on private property off state Route 7 in Brookfield Township.

A death certificate signed by Coroner Dr. Lawrence D’Amico states Wild died of multiple gunshot wounds. But the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is continuing its inquiry of whether the shooting of Wild was justified.

Wild, who was wanted in several jurisdictions on failure to comply charges, was in a stolen pickup truck and attempted to plow through police when officers fired, reports state.

Law enforcement agencies from several jurisdictions descended on the Brookfield property after midnight when they received a call from the landowner who said a “dangerous” man was holed up in the cabin on his property.

Earlier on March 20, Wild led police officers on an extensive high-speed chase from Lordstown, through Weathersfield, Vienna and Brookfield in another pickup truck before he bailed out when the vehicle got stuck on railroad tracks near Merwin Chase Road in Brookfield.

State investigators, including troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, still are piecing together the details of the last few days of Wild’s life.

Sgt. Ray Santiago of the patrol’s public affairs unit confirmed Friday that one trooper is on “critical incident leave” resulting from the Brookfield shooting.

gvogrin@tribtoday.com