Crafton police seek man charged with kidnapping, stalking

Crafton police have charged a man with kidnapping, stalking and related charges, after they said he has been terrorizing a female victim in recent months.

Police were called to the intersection of Fountain and Sycamore streets just before 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, for a report of a crash involving a Toyota SUV, which was found in a front yard with no driver. Multiple 911 calls described the crash, and a man exiting the driver’s side and fleeing the scene.

An officer arriving at the scene was flagged down and directed to the car’s female passenger, according to a criminal complaint. The woman told police that she was the victim in several incidents involving the car’s driver, Christian Spruill, who has three active arrest warrants for charges including ongoing threats, harassment, stalking and domestic violence, according to court records.

A witness told police he had gone to the victim’s house to pick her up, and saw her get into a heated with argument with Spruill, who took the woman’s phone, then grabbed her aggressively and forced her into the Toyota SUV and began driving recklessly down Fountain Street a few minutes before the crash.

The woman told police she asked Spruill to stop the vehicle several times, attempting to turn the car off, put it in park and retrieve her phone. The SUV eventually went over a hillside and crashed in a front yard.

Additional police were called in with a drone and K-9, after investigators discovered a red shoe that the female victim identified as Spruill’s. They were not able to locate him.

Spruill, who has no known address according to court records, is charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, stalking, unlawful restraint, two count of simple assault, false imprisonment, intimidating a witness, flight to avoid trial, harassment, disorderly conduct and driving violations.

The female victim had bumps, scrapes and minor lacerations and was transported to Allegheny General Hospital for evaluation, police said.