Overview
- Authorities say the Valentine’s Day incident began in Butler City, where the victim reported being beaten, strangled and threatened with scissors by ex-boyfriend Kenneth M. Clarke.
- Police reports state Clarke forced the woman into a U-Haul, after which she opened a door during a stop and sprinted barefoot into Butler Tobacco and Grocery.
- Store employee Tori Adams told local media she shielded the injured woman inside the shop as Clarke briefly entered before leaving.
- Officers from Evans City and Jackson Township stopped the U-Haul after a brief chase that concluded in Cranberry, and Clarke was taken into custody.
- Clarke has been arraigned on charges including kidnapping, aggravated assault, strangulation, terroristic threats and simple assault, and is being held on $250,000 bail.