A 19-year-old man accused of assaulting and kidnapping a 16-year-old girl from her Penn Hills home Wednesday afternoon was in the Allegheny County Jail Thursday morning.
Jermaine LaQuay Rodgers was taken into custody after a standoff in McKeesport, the Trib’s news partner, WPXI-TV, reported.
Rodgers allegedly broke into the Glenbrook Drive home of his former girlfriend, Marjani Aquil, around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Penn Hills police Chief Howard Burton.
According to WPXI, the attack was caught on surveillance cameras. Rodgers allegedly punched Aquil repeatedly, hitting her so hard in the face that she fell to the ground.
A statewide Amber Alert had been issued for Aquil. It has been cancelled.
Aquil was safe, and taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital for treatment of injuries, according to WPXI.
Aquil is the niece of wrestler Kurt Angle, who on Facebook asked people to call police if they had seen her.
“Uncle Kurt loves you, Mini,” Angle said. “Come back home to us safely.”
According to court records, Penn Hills police have charged Rodgers with kidnapping of a minor, burglary, unlawful restraint of a minor, terroristic threats, simple assault, harassment and criminal mischief. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on those charges at 10 a.m. Jan. 28.
According to WPXI-TV, police said Rodgers also held Aquil against her will for four days and assaulted her in an apartment in Wilkinsburg earlier this year.
Staff writer Brian C. Rittmeyer contributed to this report. Michael DiVittorio is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at 412-871-2367, mdivittorio@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MikeJdiVittorio.
