Authorities arrested a 26-year-old Ohio man after gunfire struck a vehicle carrying two people on Interstate 71 near Westfield Township.
WESTFIELD TOWNSHIP, OH — A federal magistrate judge and his wife were shot at during an apparent road-rage encounter on Interstate 71 in Medina County, authorities and local news reports said, with one person suffering minor injuries before police arrested a suspect later that day.
The shooting happened about 4:15 p.m. Aug. 4 on northbound I-71, roughly three miles north of the state Route 83 exit, according to the U.S. Marshals Service and local reports. The agency said an adult man and woman were inside the vehicle when someone opened fire. Officials said one of the two suffered minor injuries but did not specify which person was hurt.
News 5 Cleveland reported that the man in the vehicle was a local federal judge. Other published reporting identified the judge as U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan D. Greenberg, who serves in the Northern District of Ohio. The federal court’s current directory lists Greenberg as a magistrate judge based at the Carl B. Stokes U.S. Court House in Cleveland. Authorities have not said there is evidence that the shooting was connected to his judicial work.
In a 911 call reported by News 5, the judge told a dispatcher that another vehicle had been tailgating him for about 10 miles before the shooting. He reported that a bullet had struck the back window of his vehicle and that broken glass was scattered inside. The judge also provided dispatchers with a description of the other vehicle and its license plate number.
Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers responded to the interstate and used automated license plate-reading cameras to locate the suspected vehicle in the North Canton area, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. The vehicle was traced to the area of Strip Avenue NW, prompting a response from state troopers, Jackson Township police and members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.
Authorities identified the suspect as Thassanai Suwannasin, 26, of London, Ohio. The Marshals Service said officers found Suwannasin in the 6400 block of Strip Avenue NW and arrested him without incident. Two firearms were recovered from his vehicle, the agency said. Officials have not publicly said whether either firearm has been conclusively linked to the shots fired on I-71.
The Marshals Service initially announced that Suwannasin had been arrested on a felonious assault charge. News 5 later reported, citing Wadsworth Municipal Court records, that he faces charges of felonious assault and attempted murder. The charges are accusations, and Suwannasin is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Suwannasin was arraigned Aug. 5 and ordered held in lieu of a $1 million bond, according to the court information reported by News 5. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Aug. 14. The publicly available reports did not identify an attorney representing him or indicate whether he had entered a plea.
The U.S. Marshals Service said the investigation remains active and declined to release additional details. Authorities have not announced a confirmed motive or said whether the gunfire was directed at the judge because of his position. The next publicly reported step in the case is Suwannasin’s preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 14.
Author note: Last updated August 10, 2026.