Beach Park man arrested after taking two people hostage, police said

A Beach Park man is being investigated for numerous serious crimes after, police say, he held the mother of their child hostage with a knife and previously beat the woman’s dog to death.

Adrian Rivera, 40, of 10400 West Crissy Avenue, was arrested after Lake County Sheriff’s Office officers conducted a “high-risk” traffic stop to stop Rivera’s vehicle with the woman and her child inside.

The sheriff’s office said the incident began around 8:45 a.m. Sunday when Rivera beat the woman in her Beach Park home and then armed himself with a knife. He then forced the woman into a car and drove to an address in Wadsworth where her young child lived so the child could be kept away from Rivera, police said.

When they arrived at the Wadsworth address, the woman reported the situation to her relatives, who in turn called 911 and passed on information that allowed them to locate and stop the vehicle, police said.

Police said they learned that Rivera had recently killed the woman’s dog. They found the animal’s remains in a cooler at the Beach Park residence, along with two firearms.

Rivera faces charges of weapons possession, aggravated domestic violence, animal cruelty and child endangerment, authorities said.

“Our emergency dispatchers were able to obtain very important information and relay it in a flash, allowing our officers to locate and rescue the kidnapping victims,” ​​said Sheriff John Idleburg. “Without the high level of skill and cooperation between our emergency dispatcher and the responding officers, this violent man may have caused even greater harm to the victims.”