The male accused of punching and knocking out a female crossing guard in the Philadelphia area last week ended up running from the law for four days and over 500 miles before his arrest in South Carolina.
Darby Borough Police on Friday announced the arrest of 27-year-old Rashiem Russell and said he is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, stalking, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, and harassment.
‘He may have been upset with having to wait for her to cross children off of the school bus there.’
Cops say Russell — who stands 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 235 pounds — assaulted a school crossing guard last Monday in an incident caught on video.
The assault took place outside Walnut Street Elementary School in Darby Borough during dismissal around 3:30 p.m. as students looked on, WPVI-TV reported.
Police said the guard told detectives that Russell was driving aggressively as she helped students cross the street and that she ordered him to stop, the station noted.
Russell then parked his car, chased down the guard, and hit her, knocking her unconscious, WPVI reported, citing court records. The suspect then took off.
Darby Borough Police Chief Joe Gabe told WPVI in a previous story that it is believed the suspect may have been angry about waiting in traffic: “He may have been upset with having to wait for her to cross children off of the school bus there.”
Gabe added to the station that the suspect was yelling profanities as he drove through the intersection prior to the attack: “When he was approaching her, he was yelling more obscenities at her before he grabbed her and struck her in the face.”
While WPVI and other news outlets say Russell is 29, authorities — including Darby Police — say he’s 27.
Philadelphia Police on Wednesday stopped Russell’s 2009 gold Nissan Altima; two females — but not Russell — were inside, the station said, citing court documents.
One female told detectives that Russell fled to South Carolina, WPVI reported.
“The information was credible. So at that point we started scouring what possible connections, family members he may have, and we determined there was a very close family member in the city of Darlington, South Carolina,” U.S. Marshals Supervisory Deputy Robert Clark said, according to the station.
Darlington is just over 530 miles from Darby Borough.
Russell on Monday morning was still behind bars in the Florence County Jail, records show. He is awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania, WPVI said.
Pennsylvania state Sen. Anthony Williams (D) had offered a $5,000 reward in the case, the station said: “As soon as the crime was solved, they showed and wanted their $5,000, and they will get their $5,000.”
The crossing guard suffered both physical and emotional injuries but is recovering, the station said. However, she has resigned from her position as a crossing guard and wants to remain anonymous, WPVI added.
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