Howard County police have arrested a man who drove a vehicle into a woman in a McDonald’s parking lot in Laurel on Aug. 19.
Steven Dontrell Smith, 27, of no fixed address, was arrested on Friday in Washington, D.C. He has been charged in a warrant with attempted murder, assault, and kidnapping. The victim, a 27-year-old acquaintance of the suspect, was located separately; she was evaluated at a hospital Friday and treated for minor injuries.
Police shared two surveillance videos of the assault on social media asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect, victim, or the vehicle. Police received a tip on Aug. 20 that led them to locate the vehicle in a neighboring jurisdiction. Through investigation, detectives were able to identify Smith as the suspect. The vehicle, an Audi Q5, was determined to have been stolen in another state in July. Additional charges against Smith are pending.
The assault occurred at approximately 11:50 a.m. on Aug. 19 in the parking lot of the McDonald’s in the 10000 block of Washington Boulevard (Route 1). The suspect and victim initially had a physical altercation inside the vehicle, which led to the victim getting out of the car. The video shows the vehicle leaving briefly before returning and driving directly at the victim, striking her and another vehicle. The suspect exits the vehicle and drags the woman into the car before fleeing.
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