FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. — A Fairview Heights man is facing kidnapping and other charges after police said he kidnapped his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint and led officers on a high-speed pursuit through St. Clair County over the weekend.
On Monday, 43-year-old Steven McCoy was charged with home invasion, armed aggravated kidnapping, aggravated unlawful restraint, armed violence, felon in possession of a firearm and being an armed habitual criminal. All are felony charges.
According to a news release from Fairview Heights police announcing the charges, McCoy kidnapped his ex-girlfriend on Saturday. The woman told police she was walking from her East St. Louis apartment when he appeared and pointed a handgun at her. He told her he'd shoot her if she didn't go with him, she said.
The woman was held at gunpoint outside his home on Potomac Drive in Fairview Heights for about four hours until about 2 a.m. Sunday, when he drove to the Circle K on Bunkum Road to buy something. While he was gone, she called 911 to report she'd been kidnapped and was being held at gunpoint.
She hung up the call as McCoy returned to the truck. Police arrived a few seconds later and found them sitting in his truck on the parking lot.
According to police, the truck took off and McCoy ignored officers' attempts to stop him. Police then pursued him into Swansea and then Belleville at speeds that topped 100 mph.
The truck finally came to a stop near Illinois Route 161 and Frank Scott Parkway, west of Swansea. The woman said that during the pursuit, she wrestled the gun away from him, which caused him to travel into oncoming traffic and then stop on the shoulder of the roadway.
The woman escaped and was rescued by pursuing officers. McCoy ran into a wooded area nearby.
"Realizing he could not escape the large police presence, he surrendered and was taken into custody without a struggle," Fairview Heights police said.
Police found the gun along the pursuit route. No one was injured in the incident.
McCoy is being held on a $350,000 bond at the St. Clair County Jail.
