Across the street from the Clearcreek Twp. Fire Station and less than a 10-minute walk from Five Points East Elementary School, a 22-year-old man said he was held captive in a dog cage and tortured for three days until he escaped.
That man admitted to stealing a Clearcreek Twp. ambulance to aid in his escape. He was lured to a home on East Lytle Five Points Road by his ex-girlfriend, police said, revealing new details of a bizarre case that shook township residents.
One of the people who lived in the home, Christopher Edwards, has been arrested and charged with felonious assault and kidnapping. Police said five other people are considered suspects and may have been in the home during the incident.
Clearcreek Twp. Sgt. Wallace Stacy said the victim’s ex-girlfriend called him and said she was being abused by people in the house on East Lytle Five Points Road. He went to the home on Oct. 16 and was held there until he escaped on Saturday.
“He believed he was on a rescue mission,” Stacy said.
Stacy said the neighborhood is one that law enforcement officers are in often because of its proximity to the elementary school.
“This can happen in anybody’s neighborhood, anywhere,” Stacy said. “We all need to watch out for one another, watch out for our neighbors.”
Stacy said he doesn’t believe the people involved pose a threat to the general public.
“This is an isolated incident, probably based on bad break-up,” Stacy said.
The ex-girlfriend is potentially a suspect, Stacy said.
The man told police he was tortured at the home and forced to sleep in a dog cage.
The victim had cuts, burns, rope burn and bruising on his body, Stacy said.
“It’s our belief that this was a set-up,” he said.
After escaping the home, the victim ran to the fire station across the street. Firefighters working on Saturday happened to be out on a run at that time, Stacy said, so no one was there when the victim arrived.
He broke into the fire station via a window and stole the ambulance, driving himself to Dayton Children’s Hospital.
On Tuesday, 38 year-old Edwards was video arraigned in Franklin Municipal Court on a probation violation for a theft case filed by Franklin police in February. He violated probation with his arrest in the weekend incident.
Edwards was arraigned on Monday morning via video in Warren County Municipal Court on the weekend charges. His bond was set at $350,000. He is still being held in the Warren County Jail.
The prosecution requested a high bond based on the nature of the charges.
Edwards has several active warrants for failure to appear and active warrants for his arrest, according to court documents. A no-contact order was also issued for the victim.
Edwards is scheduled to be back in court Oct. 29 for a preliminary hearing on the charges of felonious assault and kidnapping.
Edwards was subletting the basement of the home from a woman who said she was not there during the incident, according to Stacy. There are several people who “frequent” the house, Stacy said.
“This is a house where we’ve had other police calls before, other disturbances,” Stacy said.
Police are still working to determine how long Edwards had lived at the house, who else lived in the house and if there was a relationship between the victim and the other people involved, aside from the ex-girlfriend.
Staff writer Lauren Pack contributed to this report.
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