Willoughby Police, fugitive task force ID driver accused of striking police cruisers

Antonio L. Armstrong

Willoughby Police and the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force have identified the man accused of striking a police cruiser twice and running from police.

A reward is being offered for information leading to the capture of 27-year-old Antonio L. Armstrong.

Armstrong has been charged with felonious assault on a police officer, fleeing and obstructing official business, police said in a release.

At 1:20 a.m. Monday, Willoughby Police pulled over a 1999 Dodge Caravan on Maplegrove Road. The van pulled into the parking lot of Motel 6. The driver, identified by police as Armstrong, gave the officer false identification. He then struck the police cruiser with the van and fled.

Police followed the vehicle onto Interstate 90 into Euclid, where the van eventually crashed into a pole on East 185th Street near the Cleveland and Euclid border.

When officers arrived at the crash scene, they were unable to locate the driver.

During the chase the van struck the cruiser one more time.

Armstrong is described as a black man standing approximately 6 feet tall weighing 200 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Police believe he is hiding in the Collinwood area of Cleveland.

Anyone with information on Armstrong's location is asked to call the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 866-492-6833. Information can also be texted to 847411 with the keywords WANTED and TIP or emailed to USMS.wanted@USDOJ.gov.


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