Man Arrested After Allegedly Kidnapping, Brutally Beating Ex-Girlfriend In Front Of Her Children

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A man accused of kidnapping and beating his ex-girlfriend in front of her young children was arrested on Friday.

The victim was attending a candlelight vigil with her children on Jan. 10 when Earl Peters Jr., 27, pulled up in his car and forced the victim and her children into the vehicle. He drove them to the victim's residence on Letsche Street where he let the children out but forced the victim to stay inside. The couple reportedly got into a heated argument.

Peters proceeded to get out of the vehicle, open the rear passenger door and drag the victim from her seat into the street. According to the police's affidavit, Peters spat, punched and kicked her while she lay defenseless on the ground.

A witness told police that the victim was screaming so loud that she could hear the commotion from inside her apartment. According to her, the victim's children were visibly distressed and sobbing hysterically, and they had been forced to look on at the fight from the apartment building hallway. The witness took the children into her apartment and then went in search of the victim.

The witness helped the victim with her wounds. The victim's shirt was torn and exposed her chest, she had a large lump on her forehead and there was blood coming out of her mouth immediately after the incident.

The victim did not seek official medical care until the next day at Allegheny General Hospital. She was screened into the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police's LAP (Lethality Assessment Program), and she was seeking an emergency PFA (Protection From Abuse) order against Peters and would be in contact with the Women's Center and Shelter. In the past, she had been worried Peters would break her apartment window and harm her as well as her children.

Police arrested Peters on Friday, and he is now in Allegheny County Jail.

He is being charged with one count of aggravated assault, three counts of kidnapping, two counts of endangering the welfare of children and one count of unlawful restraint. His bail was set at $50,000, and he has been unable to post bail.

Peters' residence is listed as being on the 100 block of Penn Avenue, and he has a lengthy criminal record involving drug dealing.