Moraine man accused of pistol-whipping Kettering resident, stealing car indicted

ajc.com

Credit: Cornelius Frolik

Credit: Cornelius Frolik

A Moraine man indicted Tuesday on a dozen felony charges is accused of pistol-whipping a Kettering resident earlier this month before restraining him with duct tape and stealing his car.

Bernard Timothy Schuler, 47, is scheduled to appear Thursday for his arraignment in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court for two counts each of aggravated robbery, felonious assault, kidnapping and abduction in addition to single counts of grand theft (motor vehicle), having weapons while under disability, disrupting public services and theft.

Kettering police responded around 9:55 p.m. Feb. 10 to the 1700 block of West Stroop Road after two 911 calls about a man yelling for help who had been the victim of an armed robbery.

“The victim was pistol-whipped several times before being tied up with duct tape. The suspect stole the victim’s cellphone, wallet and vehicle,” a release from the Kettering Police Department stated.

The victim was taken to Kettering Health Main Campus for treatment of his injuries.

He told police that he allowed an unknown man inside his house after he knocked on his door saying he was having car troubles and that a mutual friend had sent him there to get help, said officer Cynthia James, the department’s public information officer.

After speaking with the Kettering resident, the man held him at gunpoint, pistol-whipped his face and head and demanded money. The assailant restrained the resident using duct tape and took money, credit cards and his car keys before leaving in the victim’s car, according to an affidavit filed in Kettering Municipal Court.

The car later was found abandoned at a plumbing business in the 3000 block of Springboro Pike in Moraine. Surveillance footage identified Schuler as the suspect, the affidavit stated.

Bernard Timothy Schuler

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

icon to expand image

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Schuler reportedly admitted to his probation officer and a Kettering detective that he went to the Kettering resident’s house and struck him, according to court records.

Schuler was arrested Feb. 13 in the Cincinnati area by the U.S. Marshals Service Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, which is made up of agents, officers and deputies from multiple federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

He was booked Feb. 17 into the Montgomery County Jail, where he is held on $250,000 bail.

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