Man charged in deadly capturing in LaGrange Township that adopted little one custody swap

LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio — An Ashland County man was charged Friday in connection with a fatal shooting that followed a custody change in the LaGrange community, according to the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office.

Kody Rutledge, 22, of Polk, is charged with first degree murder, murder and criminal assault in the Jan. 30 shooting that killed Christopher Sayers, the sheriff’s office said. Each load carries a weapon specification.

Rutledge is being held in the Lorain County Jail on $500,000 bail.

Sayers, 24, of Elyria, was shot and killed shortly after a custody swap with his ex-girlfriend, the sheriff’s office previously said.

A man later identified as Rutledge called to report a shooting at a home on Block 17000 of Whitehead Road in LaGrange Township. Rutledge said he shot Sayers in the stomach and he believes Sayers died, the sheriff’s office said.

Sayers and Rutledge knew each other before the shooting, the sheriff’s office said.

Sheriff’s deputies, assigned to the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, arrested Rutledge Friday after the arraignment during a traffic stop, according to the sheriff’s office and Lorain County Jail records.