A man wielding a Samurai sword held it to a woman's neck and threatened to chop off her heard before being arrested by police.
On Monday around 11:30 p.m., a woman flagged down officers driving on West Main Street at Bonnieview Road.
The woman told police she and a man were having an argument that escalated to the man grabbing a Samurai sword, putting it up to her neck and threatening to chop her head off. She said the man also grabbed her by the neck and choked her, then punched her near the eye and tore her dress.
According to a Alliance police report, the woman tried to get away but said the man grabbed her car keys and took her car.
He caught up to her in the intersection just as police arrived.
Police tried to pull over the vehicle, but the man made a sudden turn into a driveway, shut off the car, jumped out and ran between houses.
Officers followed the man north, crossing the 700 block of West Main Street. Police caught up to him as he ran between homes on the north side of Main Street. When asked why he ran away, he said the woman was "starting up" with him and that he had done nothing wrong.
Officers found the sword in the back seat of the car the man was driving.
Police said the man, identified as 53-year-old John Smith, of Youngstown, was driving under suspension and had an active warrant out of Alliance Municipal Court for failure to appear on an original resisting arrest charge.
Smith was arrested and charged with felonious assault, obstructing official business and driving under suspension. He was taken to Stark County Jail. His court appearance is pending.
