A man arrested near Subway in Washington Court House had an active warrant for his arrest out of Clinton County, according to authorities.

Justin L. Dawson, 35, was arrested Tuesday on Elm Street by the Washington Court House Police Department and booked into the Fayette County Jail for the warrant.

Witnesses to the arrest incident described it on social media Tuesday as “something big” and said allegedly a K-9 was utilized; the jail record did not indicate that he was booked on a drug-related charge. An incident report from the arrest has not yet been released.

The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Tuesday after his arrest that Dawson had an active warrant for a theft charge, a fifth-degree felony.

The theft charge originated from a traffic incident earlier this year on April 17, according to the indictment from the Clinton County Prosecutor’s Office, which states Dawson was allegedly using a stolen registration tag. According to the prosecutor’s office, the case was handled by the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Wilmington.

A public records request sent Wednesday to the Ohio State Highway Patrol Public Affairs Unit in Columbus returned a redacted two-page preliminary report on the incident. The report says allegedly a driver was stopped on Rombach Avenue in Wilmington April 17 for expired tags and no seat belt. According to the report, the rightful owner of the tags did not know that someone else was using the registration tag.

Dawson was charged with a registration violation, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and a seat belt violation, a minor misdemeanor, for which he plead guilty in the Clinton County Municipal Court in April and was fined $50 on each charge.

Court records show that three months later, an indictment was issued in Clinton County for Dawson July 31 on a single charge of theft. A deputy sheriff with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office attempted to serve Dawson at his residence with the indictment Aug. 24.

The court records state Dawson’s listed residence at 254 N. Bend Court in Washington Court House was vacant at the time.

The Clinton County courts had scheduled Dawson for an arraignment hearing on the charge for Sept. 8 with Judge John W. Rudduck, the presiding judge in the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas. However, since the notice for appearance for arraignment was reportedly undeliverable Aug. 24 at the address Dawson provided, the warrant was later issued.

Dawson was transported from the Fayette County Jail to the Clinton County Jail but was released Wednesday, according to inmate records.