A man wanted on an arrest warrant was charged with felonies by Lower Burrell police after they accused him of kneeing an officer who tried to take him into custody and spitting blood at officers while he was in a holding cell.

Christopher A. Love, 38, of the 700 block of Earl Avenue in New Kensington was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault along with counts of simple assault, resisting arrest and institutional vandalism.

Love was released from the Westmoreland County jail after posting 10% of a $10,000 cash bond, according to court records. He faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec on Tuesday, Nov.1.

Love was arrested after police received a call shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, from a property owner along Silvermoon Drive who reported there was a vehicle in the woods behind his house that was trespassing on his property, according to a complaint file in the case.

The caller said he heard what sounded like a crash and a vehicle going over a nearby hillside, police said.

Police said they walked into the woods and found a Chevrolet Silverado pickup with two men inside. Investigators said the driver appeared to be intoxicated and had a can of Miller Lite beer in the center console.

He told police the property they were driving on belonged to him, according to the complaint.

The passenger, who was later identified as Love, initially refused to give police his name, the complaint said. Once he was identified, an officer learned he was wanted on an arrest warrant out of Springdale.

Police said Love refused orders to put his hands on his head and had to be restrained so an officer could confiscate a knife with a 5-inch blade that was hanging from his belt, according to his arrest papers.

Love tried to run from police but was stopped by an officer who used a leg sweep to knock him to the ground, the complaint said.

Love is accused of kneeing one of two officers who was escorting him out of the woods in handcuffs.

After being placed in a cell at the Lower Burrell police station, officers had to remove the toilet paper roll because Love tried to use moistened pieces to cover over the lens of the security camera, the complaint said.

Police said Love then began jumping on the cell’s steel bench. He was able to pull the bench’s mounting bracket off along with a stainless steel bolt used to attach it to the concrete wall, the complaint said.

Love then began kicking the cell door and urinated on the floor, police said.

Police said Love continued to struggle with them, and they had to use a ballistic shield to control him long enough to get him in leg shackles, the complaint said. They were not able to get him in handcuffs.

Officers said they did not know where the bolt from the bench was located. Love had his fist clenched so they used force to subdue him, the complaint said.

One officer punched Love in the face and another struck him several times in the stomach until they were able to place him in handcuffs, the complaint said.

Police said they put a shield over Love’s face after he began spitting blood at officers. He was taken by ambulance to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison for treatment of facial injuries and then released back into police custody, according to the complaint.

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