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Rape, kidnapping among charges for man after two-hour foot chase
Steven Areizaga
Steven Areizaga

OAKWOOD -- Oakwood Police added charges including rape and kidnapping for a man accused of assaulting a woman and two officers with a knife Sunday.

Steven Areizaga was booked in to the Hall County Jail Monday after a two-hour chase the night before.

Police responded after 6 p.m. Sunday to the Audubon Crest Apartments on Lanier Mill Circle in Oakwood, where they said he had been holding a woman against her will.

“After investigating, we had found he had actually held her against her will for about 12 hours,” Oakwood Police Chief Randall Moon said.

Moon said Areizaga was charged with aggravated assault on police officers for allegedly pulling a knife on them.

Areizaga was additionally charged with rape, kidnapping with bodily injury, reckless conduct and false imprisonment, according to the Hall County Jail log.

Police said Areizaga was barefoot during a two-hour foot chase in Oakwood, but he was detained behind First Baptist Church of Oakwood.

Authorities fired a beanbag at him from a rifle before arresting him.

Hall County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Hall County Fire Services, Georgia State Patrol and Georgia Department of Natural Resources officers aided in the pursuit of Areizaga.

Moon praised the “excellent job” the pair of officers did, saying they had “every right” to shoot when the knife was pulled on them but didn’t.