SOMEBODY GOT HIT. >> OH MY GOD. >> LET US OUT, BRO. >> GOT HIT. One down. >> You're good, bro. We got you. >> Give me the shield. Give me the shield. >> You're all right, bro. You're all right. >> A police officer has just been shot by a 68-year-old fugitive barricaded inside an Ohio motel. But this gun battle is not where the story begins. Because while officers arrived with a federal firearms indictment, DNA from a murder committed 43 years earlier was quietly closing in on the same man. >> [music] >> And investigators would later question whether James Van Ness believed the officers outside his door had finally come for him. >> OCCUPANTS OF 220, US MARSHALS WITH a warrant. Come to the door. Do it now. >> Master key's not working for room 220. >> Police, come to the door now. >> He's got a gun. >> He's pointing a gun at us. >> Call for SWAT. >> Members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force have located Van Nest inside room 220. Officially, they are not there to arrest him for murder. They are serving a federal indictment connected to firearms discovered during an earlier traffic stop in West Virginia. At approximately 11:10 a.m., a deputy marshal unlocks the door, but an interior security latch stops it after only a few inches. Through the opening, the deputy sees Van Nest lying on the bed and pointing a handgun toward the officers. The arrest operation instantly becomes an armed barricade. >> Come to the door. Do it now. >> Hey, you want to make sure you get people out of the adjacent rooms. >> James, this is US Marshals. We don't want to see anyone get hurt. Come out with your hands up slowly. >> He's laying in the bed with a pistol pointed right at us. >> The deputy withdraws without firing. Officers call SWAT, establish a perimeter, and begin evacuating the motel. That decision may have prevented the confrontation from ending during its first few seconds. But to understand why Van Nest was already being followed by investigators, we need to return to Mansfield, Ohio in 1981. >> Good evening. Thanks for being with us. I'm Rob Powers. Katie Usen is off tonight. Investigators are revealing new details today in a Richland County murder from 1981. Mansfield police say new DNA techniques led them to identify who they say murdered 18-year-old Deborah Lee Miller. News 5's Clay Lepard has the new developments and how it's all connected to a deadly SWAT standoff just last month. >> That same man is responsible for the murder of 18-year-old Deborah Lee Miller in Mansfield in 1981. >> On April 29th, 1981, 18-year-old Deborah Debbie Lee Miller was found dead inside her West 3rd Street apartment. Debbie was a high school senior preparing to attend college. She also worked at a nearby coffee shop. Her body was discovered by the building's owner and a maintenance worker. Investigators found evidence of a violent struggle and an autopsy determined that she died from blunt force injuries to her head and neck. Police believed household objects, including pots, pans, and a burner grate from a stove had been used during the attack. The man living directly above her was 26-year-old James Vanest. He was interviewed during the original investigation, but was not treated as the primary suspect. The case eventually went cold. In 2021, Detective Terry Butler and DNA analyst Dawn Fryback reopened the case and examined the evidence as if the murder had happened recently. Fryback conducted more than 80 analyses on material preserved since 1981. Police said Vanest's DNA appeared on multiple pieces of evidence, often mixed with Debbie's DNA. Some of those profiles were reportedly recovered from objects directly associated with the killing. Using old photographs and a VHS recording of the apartment, investigators mapped where the DNA had been found. The picture, according to prosecutors, was becoming increasingly difficult to explain away. >> Hey James, this is Detective Ames with the Jackson Police Department. If you can hear me, can you let me know? James, we're not going anywhere. Can you talk with me a little bit, please? We are going to gas your room if you do not come to the door with your hands where we can see them. >> When Butler interviewed Van Nest in 2021, he did not initially reveal the DNA findings. Yet, Van Nest began describing the night of Debbie's death in remarkable detail. He claimed that he had chased a homeless man away from her apartment. He then said Debbie invited him inside during the early hours of April 29th and that they had consensual sex before he became sick and left. Investigators believed he was attempting to explain why his DNA might be found inside, despite Butler never telling him that DNA was the focus of the interview. Van Nest had also placed himself inside Debbie's apartment around the period in which she was killed. When Butler sought another interview in 2024, Van Nest requested an attorney and [music] refused to speak. Soon afterward, he sold his home, purchased a truck and trailer, and left Ohio. Van Nest was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms. During a traffic stop in West Virginia, authorities reportedly found two guns. He was arrested on state charges and later released on bond. Federal authorities then pursued a separate firearms indictment. Mansfield Police Chief Jason Bamman later speculated that Van Nest may not have known the federal charge was coming. When officers arrived at his motel, the chief believed Van Nest might have assumed they were there because of Debbie's murder. That has never been proven. Whatever Van Nest believed, he had decided not to surrender. >> What y'all backing up? >> Yeah, they're just bringing in the heavy artillery. >> You need me TO LEAVE, BRO? I GOT kids in here. Something fell down. Like, I'm not trying to be a video. >> Several motel guests remained close enough to watch the operation from their windows. Some begin recording while asking officers to let them leave. Police face a difficult problem. Moving families across the open parking lot could expose them to Van Estes gunfire, but sheltering them inside a thin-walled motel offers limited protection if bullets begin traveling through the rooms. Guests closest to room 220 are evacuated. Others are told to stay inside and move away from the windows. Confusion between the responding agencies leaves some occupants uncertain whether they should evacuate or shelter in place. That confusion will become critical once the shooting begins. >> James, this is the police department. You need to come outside with your hands up. If you don't come out, we're going to insert chemical munitions in your apartment. >> Or just going to be right there in front of you on the left side of that truck. >> I'm just worried about him finding a hole for cuz the Dodge truck movement moving up front window. >> Negotiators repeatedly order Van Estes to surrender while officers deploy pepper balls and chemical munitions. By the end of the operation, investigators would document at least 39 identifiable less lethal rounds in addition to dozens of pepper ball projectiles, but the gas does not force Van Estes outside. A drone is sent toward the room allowing officers to search for him without placing another person in the doorway, but Van Estes not simply hiding. He is waiting for something to enter his line of fire. >> James, this is the police department. We need you to come outside with your hands up. >> Let him get that drone up and then we'll move up. >> Just be aware he might shoot at us. Be ready for shots if he shoots at us. There it is. >> SHOTS FIRED. SHOTS FIRED. >> Stay in line of fire from the room is right towards the entrance. >> Drone is down. Gas deployed. >> You're about to blow something up in that room. >> As the drone approaches, Van Estes opens fire. Rounds tear through the motel wall as officers rush behind vehicles. Van Estes disables the drone and continues shooting toward the north side of the building in the direction of Interstate 77 and the neighboring Cracker Barrel. Police begin evacuating the restaurant and shutting down nearby roads. The walls conceal Van Est's exact position, but do almost nothing to stop his bullets. And inside the motel, families are still sheltering only a few rooms away. >> Once you sleep enough for so much gas in there. >> James, come on outside with your HANDS UP. >> WHAT ABOUT THAT? >> THE CHEMICAL GAS BECOMES SO concentrated that it can be seen drifting out of the room. Still, Van Est refuses to respond. The family nearby knows that gunfire has already passed through the building, but allowing them to run across an exposed walkway during an active shooting could place them directly in Van Est's line of fire. There is no completely safe option. Then the danger reaches one of the SWAT officers. >> All right, medics are on the front side of the building. >> Stay with him. Stay with him. Stay with him. >> North Canton police officer Patrick Lewis has been shot in the right bicep. Lewis is a nine-year department veteran, a Canton regional SWAT master operator, a sniper, and a precision rifle instructor. Other officers use shields and vehicles to extract him while the shooting continues. Lewis receives emergency treatment at the scene before being taken to a hospital. Surgeons later repair damaged tendons in his arm, and he is expected to make a full recovery. But his shooting changes the operation. Van Est has now wounded an officer, fired through occupied walls, and repeatedly rejected opportunities to surrender. >> We think he's got maybe an AR pistol just because of the sound. >> You guys got a UAV in there again? >> Drone got shot down. >> But he's been shooting through the walls here. >> The pillows are moving. >> HE'S RELOADING. >> SHOTS FIRED. >> SHOOTING over the bed. >> He's still shooting at us. >> Suppress. >> Suppress. >> All right, hold your fire. >> He's shot at me twice. >> Officers believe Van Est is positioned between the bed and the bathroom wall. Furniture, gas, and smoke conceal him. He can fire through the wall without fully exposing himself, while officers must account for occupied rooms, nearby businesses, and their own teams surrounding the motel. Investigators would later recover 15 fired cartridge casings from inside room 220. Nine responding officers ultimately fired their rifles. The investigation documented 147 rifle casings associated with officers, although the report cautioned that the real number may have been higher. Yet, after multiple exchanges, Van Ness is still moving. >> We have the bot. We can insert the bot once we're ready. >> He shot at the The drone's down. >> When our MRAP gets here, we're going to drive it right through that wall. Actually, let's hold [music] off for a second. Let me Let me think about this. >> You're shooting through this wall. How are those people not out? >> Move this [ __ ] >> A second armored vehicle is brought forward. Rather than immediately driving through the wall, officers use it to move Van Ness's pickup truck and establish protected positions near the room. The plan is to break the window, deploy more gas, and send in a robot before risking another officer. But, during the maneuver, officers notice civilians still visible behind sections of the motel that have been struck by gunfire. Teams are forced to clear the remaining rooms while the standoff continues. Fortunately, no additional victims are discovered. >> Is he still moving? >> I have a shot. He's got a pistol out. >> I have a shot. I have a shot. He's pointing a gun at me through the port. I engaged a handful of rounds. >> I blatantly saw him point a gun over the >> From inside the armored vehicle, officers finally obtain a clearer view. Van Ness moves behind the bed and raises what an officer identifies as a handgun toward one of the vehicle's firing ports. The officer fires several rounds. Van Ness disappears from view, and the room becomes silent. But, after everything that has happened, no one assumes the threat is over. They need confirmation before anyone enters. >> Aircraft in authorization zone unable to take off. >> I think he's down. I see his head. >> You see his head? >> Yeah. >> Yeah, I see the head. >> They toss a to right in from there. You might get a reaction if he's still alive. >> Right on him. >> Officers first attempt to deploy another drone, but the motel's proximity to an airport prevents it from taking off. They send in the ground robot instead. It finds Van Nest face down near the foot of the bed. Flash bangs are deployed to test for a response. There is no movement. Still, officers refuse to rush forward. Van Nest remains surrounded by weapons and could still be capable of firing. Only after the robot maintains visual contact does the shield team approach room 220. >> No movement. No movement. >> You want to make entry? >> Let's go confirm >> Fire. >> We got to fire still, Jerry. We got to fire. The bed's on fire. The room is on fire. >> The bed is clear. >> Yes. 51 in plain view. Suspect down. >> And he's got multiple pistols here. >> Part of the bed is burning, apparently ignited during the final deployment of munitions. Officers extinguish the fire and secure the room. Van Nest is dead. Two handguns and four loaded magazines are recovered near him. Three additional firearms, magazines, and ammunition are later found inside his truck. The publicly released BCI summary redacts the autopsy findings, so the precise medical details of Van Nest's death are unavailable. The investigation did conclude that Van Nest fired first, continued shooting toward officers in public areas, and was given repeated opportunities to surrender. The responding officers were found legally justified in using deadly force. No criminal charges were filed against them. >> Threat's neutralized. All right. >> Let's not disturb the scene any more than it already has been. >> Suspect is confirmed dead at 10:57. >> Despite the amount of gunfire, Officer Lewis is the only person reported wounded. No motel guest, restaurant customer, or additional officer is found injured. For the agencies at the scene, the standoff is over, but Van Nest's death creates a complicated ending for the investigators preparing Debbie Miller's murder case. The prosecutor's office had been preparing to present its evidence to a grand jury. Now, there can be no indictment, trial, or jury verdict. On December the 30th, 2024, Mansfield police announced that they had identified James Van Nest as the man responsible for Debbie Miller's murder. They cited DNA recovered from multiple items inside her apartment, including evidence directly associated with the killing. Investigators also relied on Van Nest's own statements, which placed him inside the apartment during the relevant period and appeared to anticipate the discovery of his DNA. But, Van Nest was never indicted for Debbie's murder. He was never tried or convicted. That distinction matters. A police conclusion is not the same as a verdict reached after the evidence has been challenged in court. Nevertheless, Mansfield police said the DNA, Van Nest's statements, and the accompanying investigation established his responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt. The department formally closed the case and informed Debbie's family. Whether Van Nest opened fire because he believed the murder investigation had finally caught up with him can never be proven. The officers at room 220 were serving an unrelated federal firearms indictment, but when they opened the motel door, Van Nest was already pointing a gun toward them. 43 years after Debbie Miller was found inside her apartment, preserved evidence had finally accomplished what the original investigation could not. There would be no courtroom and no murder conviction, but Debbie's family finally received an answer. And after more than four decades, her case was closed.