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Posted: 7:48 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012
EMPORIUM, Pa. —
After nearly a month of police searching and following leads, Thomas Smith, 58, is now in custody.
Police arrested Smith on Monday night at Allegany Pub in Emporium around 8:30 p.m.
Officials said he was spotted inside the bar and someone called police.
Bystanders told 6 News that multiple law-enforcement agencies swarmed the pub, which is located along East Allegany Ave.
Residents tell 6 News that Smith's sister owns the pub.
According to police, Smith willingly turned himself in when police arrived on the scene.
Court documents said Smith tried abducting a 39-year-old bank employee who worked at Citizens and Northern, the branch that foreclosed on his house.
According to court documents Smith flagged the woman down that day while she was driving home.
The victim told police that she was driving on Witmore Road when she saw Smith walking down a hill.
According to an affidavit the woman stopped to see what he wanted.
Smith allegedly asked the woman for a ride to Sheetz because his car broke down and he said that his knees were killing him.
Police said while heading to Sheetz, Smith told the woman that he lived in Pittsburgh and was told he had pancreatic cancer.
The woman said she approached Third St. when Smith mentioned he was actually going to Ed's Truck and Repair, so she had to take him there instead.
After turning behind the Echo (newspaper building), the woman told police that Smith pulled out a gun and said, "This is actually the worst day of your life."
The woman said that she tried to reach toward the gun. She said that she asked if he was kidding, and he responded "no."
The woman told police that Smith said she took his house away and now "you're going to pay for it."
According to an affidavit, the woman told police that Smith said that, "after he was done with me he was going to get the other girl (from the bank) as well."
The victim stated this was not her fault that the bank took the house back.
According to an affidavit, the woman was told to keep driving. She told police she turned west onto Fourth Street.
The victim told police that Smith wanted her to pull into the bank parking lot and park out back.
The victim said no, police said.
The victim said once they got to the intersection of Fourth and Broad, she slowed the car down and was able to wait for another car to pull out.
"Tom told me to get moving and I told him I needed to wait for the car backing out. I then began to drive slowly and decided that at the time it was my chance to jump out," the woman told police.
The woman told police she than ran to the Sheetz convenience store and called 911.
According to police, the next day they reviewed security video from the Sheetz store.
Authorities said that around 12:38 p.m. a white Ford Explorer was traveling south on South Broad Street.
Police said when the vehicle passed the Kerosene pumps, a woman jumped out of the vehicle.
Police said Smith also jumped out of the vehicle and ran west.
Smith was arraigned Monday night on charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He was booked into the Potter County Jail.
His bail was set at $75,000 cash.
Borough police, state troopers and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are still looking into the incident.
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