Cranberry Township Police Department took the driver of a U-Haul truck into custody on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 14, after a police chase began at the Butler Tobacco & Grocery store on Pillow Street in Butler and wound its way through several municipalities.

Kenneth M. Clarke, 53, of Pittsburgh, is facing charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault, strangulation, terroristic threats and simple assault following a kidnapping and alleged domestic assault Saturday, according to Butler City police.

Butler City police said they were dispatched around 2 p.m. to the 100 block of Pillow Street and met a woman who said she was assaulted by Clarke, her ex-boyfriend.

The alleged incident began on McGeary Street in Butler. Police said Clarke repeatedly struck the woman in the face, leaving abrasions and causing her lip ring to be torn out. Kenneth then attempted to strangle her with both hands, and the woman began to lose consciousness, police said.

Clarke then grabbed the woman’s hair and shoved her into a wall, which left a cut on her left ear, police said. Her shirt was also torn on her right shoulder.

Police said Clarke then dragged the woman out of the residence by her hair and threw her across the driver’s seat of the U-Haul before the two drove off.

Police said Clarke held a green pair of scissors to the woman while he drove.

Clarke nearly ran a red light and had to back up the U-Haul at the intersection of West Cunningham and Pillow streets, police said.

The woman told police when the U-Haul stopped at the intersection, she saw her chance to flee. She told police Clarke had threatened to kill her, which motivated her to escape.

The woman told police when she opened the passenger door and attempted to flee, Clarke attempted to stab her with the scissors. Police said Clarke struck the woman’s buttocks with the scissors, which left a cut in her pants.

The woman then ran into Butler Tobacco & Grocery and hid in a storage room in the store, according to police. Clarke followed her inside, but left and fled before police arrived.

According to a time stamp on a section of security camera footage, the woman ran into the store shortly after 2 p.m.

Lisa Albert, who owns the tobacco store, was not present when the incident took place, but relayed information from an employee who was there. Albert declined to identify the employee.

According to Albert, her employee first noticed something was wrong when a woman jumped out of the U-Haul at a nearby traffic light and came running into the store.

“The woman jumped out and she ran across the snow pile and into my store to get help,” Albert said. “When she ran into the store, she was screaming that he had kidnapped her, beat her, stole the U-Haul and she didn’t know how he had gotten into her building.”

According to Albert, the woman told the employee she was in the process of moving out of her apartment when the altercation began.

“This woman was all bloodied,” Albert said. “You could tell her hair had been pulled, her shirt was stretched and ripped.”

Albert said the woman reported the man had tried to cut her through her pants with a pair of scissors.

Security footage from the tobacco store shows a balding man in a yellow shirt entering the building while shouting and pointing before another woman chases him out of the establishment. According to Albert, the woman chasing him out of the building is the store employee.

“My girl came out from behind the counter, screaming and yelling at him that he needed to leave,” Albert said.

Albert said a customer also assisted in defusing the situation by helping the employee lock the U-Haul driver out of the building.

“He saw the girl jump out from the light … so he had pulled over, got out of his car, ran into the store to see if we were OK,” Albert said. “So he had also helped get the guy out and they got the door locked and they both called 911. 911 told them to keep the door locked until the police got here.”

According to Albert, the police chase involving the U-Haul began shortly thereafter.

“He was out there screaming and hollering … and after he was done hollering outside, he jumped back in the U-Haul and took off,” Albert said. “We didn't know where he went until we found out later that they ended up on a chase and it ended in Cranberry.”

During the altercation, the female who allegedly fled the U-Haul was kept safely in a storage room in the back of the store, Albert said.

“Police took her to get medical attention,” Albert said.

Police said Clarke fled the scene in the U-Haul before officers arrived at the store. The U-Haul was later spotted on Route 68.

Butler City police said Evans City and Jackson Township police stopped the vehicle after a brief chase.

Cranberry Township police Chief Kenneth Ruckel told the Butler Eagle the pursuit came through their jurisdiction at about 2:40 p.m.

“A Cranberry police officer utilized stop sticks to disable the suspect vehicle around Peters Road,” Ruckel said. “The suspect vehicle came to a stop a short distance later and the operator detained near Myoma Road.”

No known injuries were reported to Cranberry Township police, according to Ruckel.

Clarke is being held in Butler County Prison on a $250,000 bail.

Staff writer Matthew Glover contributed to this report.