12/4/25 Cincinnati, OH – Suspect Stabs Victim 33 Times Then Steals Marked Cincinnati Police Car – He Forced The Police Car Window Down To Gain Entry To The Locked Police Car – Stolen Police Car Spotted 50 Miles Away – Arrested

A suspect stabbed a victim 33 times in the northern Cincinnati suburbs and then fled the scene in a police cruiser before he was apprehended hours later in Northern Kentucky, according to Middletown Police Chief Earl Nelson.

Independence police took the suspect, Jonathan Crabtree, 24, in custody, as Middletown police arrived to recover their vehicle, the chief tells FOX19 NOW.

According to a Kenton County Court judge, Crabtree’s bond was set at $100,000.

It all started at 3:50 a.m. Thursday, when Middletown police responded to a stabbing inside an apartment in the 4400 block of Bonita Drive, according to Chief Nelson.

Officers found the adult victim with 33 wounds, he said.

While police tended to the victim, other officers searched for the suspect, who had run off, the chief said.

At 4:57 a.m., Crabtree “double backed a different way from where they were” and came out the other way, where an empty police cruiser was running, according to Chief Nelson.

Police keep cruisers running at scenes at all times, the chief explained, even when they are not inside to keep the vehicle battery powering the equipment inside.

The suspect “forced down a window” that was cracked on the cruiser, “jumped in” and drove off, he said. Police video shows the cruiser leaving at 4:58 a.m.

The stabbing victim, meanwhile, was transported to Atrium Medical Center in Middletown and then transferred in critical condition to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, according to a Middletown news release.

Shortly after, dispatchers began advising all area law enforcement to be on the lookout for the stolen cruiser.

It was spotted on the Norwood Lateral at one point and then on Martin Luther King Drive in Cincinnati and Reading Road, according to initial emergency communication reports.

The public was urged to call 911 if they spotted it: “Do not approach. Suspect is believed to be dangerous.”

By 7:30 a.m., police in Independence blocked off a dead-end road off Taylor Mill Road, Rusconi Drive, with the suspect apprehended.

A resident spotted the stolen cruiser parked on Rusconi Drive and called 911 to report a suspicious vehicle, Independence police said.

Officers took Crabtree into custody without incident.

Independence police charged Crabtree with receiving stolen property over $10,000.

Middletown’s charges and extradition are pending, he said.