A man has been arrested after terrorizing a family on Duff Road by assaulting a man with a tire jack tool and setting an outbuilding on fire.
Saturday night at approximately 8:45, Grayson County Deputies Andy Cast, Hunter Miller and Caleb Owens, Carey Sims and Blake Schroerlucke with Grayson Co. Emergency Management, the Leitchfield Fire Department, and EMS responded to the report of a man trying to kill people at a residence in the 1200 block of Duff Road.
Upon law enforcement arriving at the scene, they learned the suspect, 36-year-old Eliud Lopez-Cruz, of Radcliff, had left the residence and ran into a nearby wooded area, according to the arrest citation. Lope-Cruz, according to witnesses, was carrying a machete.
A male victim, who had been struck multiple times in the head with a tire jack tool and began suffering seizures, was transported by EMS to Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center. He was later taken to another hospital for treatment of major head injuries.
The citation states that Lopez-Cruz became angry when asked to leave the home. In addition to assaulting a male, the suspect also is accused of setting an outbuilding on fire (Leitchfield fire responded but the fire was extinguished prior to firefighters arriving) and busting out the windows of two vehicles.
Prior to police arriving, Lopez-Cruz returned to the residence after setting the outbuilding on fire, but the residents had locked the door. He then “tried to force entry into the home and broke out two windows (while) still armed with a weapon,” the citation states.
Schroerlucke and Sims used a drone for between two and three hours to try and locate Lopez-Cruz without success.
Then, at approximately 1:30 Sunday morning, Grayson County Dispatch received a call that a male was walking towards Taylor Cemetery on Taylor Cemetery Road. Upon Cast and Miller arriving, they gave the suspect, who was in the cemetery, verbal commands to stop.
“Lopez-Cruz didn’t listen,” resulting in the deputies pursuing the suspect into a wooded area behind the cemetery.
“Upon reaching Lopez-Cruz several hundred yards later, he started yelling that he had a knife to his throat and was going to kill himself in a creek bed,” according to the citation. He initially refused verbal commands to surrender, but “after several minutes of talking with Lopez-Cruz, he complied and was arrested without further incident.”
He was charged with first-degree burglary, attempted third-degree arson, second-degree assault, menacing, fleeing or evading police (on foot), first-degree criminal mischief, and four counts of felony wanton endangerment. Lopez-Cruz was also served with two failure to appear warrants out of Hardin County.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
