A 54-year-old Butler man already facing one entrapment case from earlier this year is now behind bars again, accused of locking a woman inside his West Brady Street home under the pretext of offering her a cigarette, then chasing her down the street when she managed to escape. Larry Anthony Alexander was taken into custody after the woman ran to the Butler City Police Station to report what happened, and he's now held at Butler County Prison on $25,000 bail.
According to charging documents described by ButlerRadio.com, the woman entered Alexander's home on August 21 after he invited her in for a cigarette. Once inside, per the charging affidavits reported by the Butler Eagle, Alexander locked the door, pulled out a pipe, and asked if she smoked crack. When she tried to leave, he allegedly blocked the door, and when she finally escaped, he chased her down the street.
The woman made her way to the Butler City Police Department at 200 W. New Castle Street, where she reported the entrapment, per the police report. The department is led by Police Chief Robert O'Neill, according to the same Butler Eagle account. Alexander was charged with false imprisonment along with two counts of harassment.
A Second Case, and a Steeper Charge
This is not Alexander's first entanglement with false imprisonment allegations this year. He was accused in June of a similar incident, and the Butler Eagle's earlier reporting details that the June 29 case involved allegations that he trapped a woman inside his apartment while she was suffering a medical seizure. That case resulted in a misdemeanor false imprisonment charge.
The August case is being treated far more seriously. Prosecutors elevated the false imprisonment charge to a felony count this time, a notable escalation from the misdemeanor charge filed after the June incident, per the Butler Eagle's reporting on the case.
Under Pennsylvania's Crimes Code, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903, false imprisonment occurs when someone knowingly restrains another person unlawfully in a way that substantially interferes with their liberty. The offense is normally graded as a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison, according to legal statutes compiled by WomensLaw.org. The two harassment counts Alexander faces are graded under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2709, which the Pennsylvania General Assembly's statutes classify as either a summary offense carrying up to 90 days in jail or a third-degree misdemeanor carrying up to a year, depending on whether physical contact or repeated communication occurred.
Two Cases Moving on Separate Tracks
Alexander now has two criminal cases moving through the Butler County court system on separate timelines. His formal arraignment on the June false imprisonment case was scheduled in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas for September 1, the same day this case came to light. His preliminary hearing on the newer, August-related felony charge is set for September 28 in Magisterial District Court, weeks after that arraignment, per the Butler Eagle's reporting.
Pennsylvania's Megan's Law provisions, specifically 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.32, note that convictions for certain statutory false imprisonment and unlawful restraint offenses can trigger Tier I sex offender registration, depending on factors including the victim's age and the specific charge classification, according to the Pennsylvania State Police. It remains unclear whether that provision would apply in Alexander's case.
Alexander is being held at Butler County Prison, a 512-bed facility at 202 S. Washington Street in downtown Butler, according to Butler County's own description of the facility. His $25,000 bail sits within a range local courts have set for defendants facing charges involving physical restraint or assault, with bail amounts in similar Butler County cases running from $25,000 to $80,000, based on prior local reporting.
