Apr 18, 2013 2 min read

East Washington police have obtained an arrest warrant for a Washington man accused of kidnapping and assaulting his estranged girlfriend earlier this month.

Avery Lional Turner Jr., 22, is wanted on charges of kidnapping, terroristic threats, simple assault, harassment and unlawful restraint.

Borough police Chief Mark Griffith said that Turner was released from a state prison last month and was placed in a halfway house in Pittsburgh. In 2010, Turner pleaded guilty to robbing two women at gunpoint in Washington and was sentenced to 3 to 6 years in prison.

Turner reportedly grabbed his 22-year-old former girlfriend about 9:30 a.m. April 8 from in front of the LeMoyne Center on Forrest Avenue.

“He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her down the steps and stuffed her into his vehicle,” Griffith said. “They drove around the city. He was beating on her and threatening to kill her. She was finally able to jump from the moving vehicle.

The woman, who Griffith would not identify, was taken to Washington Hospital for treatment.

Since Turner is on state parole, Griffith notified that agency. Griffith said Turner was supposed to return to the halfway house by 3 p.m. but never returned and has not been seen.

Griffith said that Turner may be staying with friends or in local motels.

“He has been moving around to different areas,” Griffith said. “We’ve also notified Chartiers Township and Canonsburg police because he reportedly has a new girlfriend who lives in the Houston area.”

He also has been known to drive a white Ford Explorer with license HFL-7445. Anyone with information on Turner’s whereabouts is asked to contact 911.