LIBERTY — A 49-year-old man was taken into custody early Friday after a notice from a local police department linked his vehicle to an earlier stabbing at a local bar.

According to a police report, a Liberty officer noticed a white Dodge Charger traveling at a high rate of speed eastbound on Liberty Street while he was on Motor Inn Drive, eventually following the vehicle to a traffic light and running its information through the Law Enforcement Automated Data System.

The officer’s search revealed a 49-year-old man, who had a valid Ohio license and no warrants.

The report states the officer continued to follow the Dodge northbound on Belmont Avenue, noting it was going 51 mph in a 40 mph zone, and watching its driving behavior to see if any other violations were committed.

While the vehicle was on Townsend Avenue, the officer received a “be on the lookout” notice for the vehicle from the Girard Police Department, as it had just been involved in a stabbing at a bar in its jurisdiction, confirming the information about the vehicle and driver the officer had just seen in LEADS, the report states.

The officer made a traffic stop as it pulled into the Townsend apartments, radioing his location and that he had the vehicle at gunpoint and ordered the driver to the ground, to which he reluctantly complied.

The report states that the man yelled and called out to someone inside the apartments a comment along the lines of “they jumped me at the bar.”

The man was eventually detained by two officers, and officers found a red, foldable box cutter in his pants pockets while they patted him down. They left it on the ground until Girard PD arrived and recovered it, the report states.

The officer observed the box cutter without touching it and saw what appeared to be blood on the blade, and also noting the man had what appeared to be blood splatter on his clothing.

The report states that custody of the man, his vehicle and the knife were transferred to Girard PD, but as of Friday night, he has not appeared in any court records.