A woman walking near Cedarwood Drive in Westlake reported on Tuesday that a man threatened to skin her alive, prompting her to flee and warn others in the area before police tracked him down in a nearby parking lot. Officers arrested the 35-year-old man and found two open bottles of vodka on him, then charged him with aggravated menacing and possession of an open container.
According to Cleveland.com, the woman told police the man threatened her while she was walking near Cedarwood Drive, and she fled the area before alerting others nearby to what she described as suspicious activity. Police said officers later located the man walking through a nearby parking lot in Westlake and took him into custody.
A Pattern of Threats and a Warrant, Police Say
Per the same report, the man had an outstanding Pennsylvania warrant for trespassing at the time of his arrest.
Police said the man had previously been arrested by the Westlake Police Department for aggravated menacing, and that he had also threatened someone in the past by saying he would torture them and their family. The article notes that just a day earlier, on Sept. 14, officers had contacted the man for making inappropriate comments to a woman exercising in a park on Hilliard Boulevard in Westlake.
Homeless Status and Booking Details
The man told officers he was homeless, though he gave a last known address in Cleveland, the outlet reported. After his arrest, officers took him to jail on the aggravated menacing and open container charges.
Under Ohio law, aggravated menacing involves knowingly causing another person to believe the offender will cause serious physical harm, according to the Ohio aggravated menacing statute.
