U.S. Marshals Arrest Fugitive Wanted in 2025 Springfield Shooting

After 16 Months on the Run, U.S. Marshals Arrest Stanley Smith in Ravenna for 2025 Springfield Township Shooting

Stanley Smith, the 41-year-old man wanted in connection with a July 2025 shooting in Springfield Township, spent more than 480 days evading law enforcement before members of the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested him Wednesday at a home in Ravenna, cleveland19.com reported. The capture ends one of the region’s longest-running manhunts for a violent fugitive.

The case began on July 8, 2025, when police say Smith allegedly shot a victim in the leg in the 1400 block of Albrecht Avenue and immediately fled the scene. The victim survived and received treatment at a local hospital, but the shooting triggered an immediate search for a suspect whom officers described as armed and dangerous. That same day, police issued a warrant charging Smith with felonious assault and having weapons under disability.

In the days following the shooting, Springfield Township police urged residents to keep their homes and cars locked. Chief Jack Simone addressed the community’s fear directly in 2025. “Right now our community is facing a very serious situation with what we would describe as an armed and dangerous individual loose in our community,” Simone said. “He was involved in an incident earlier at a house on Fritsch Avenue. He was involved in a shooting. He since fled the area.”

Officers described Smith as a white man with a swastika tattoo, last seen wearing a gray T-shirt and checkered shorts. The initial incident on Fritsch Avenue appeared to escalate into the shooting on Albrecht Avenue, after which Smith vanished. The case was later bound over to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, which continued the pursuit alongside federal authorities.

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Sixteen Months of Pursuit

For more than a year, the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force worked the case, conducting several interviews and following investigative leads across Northeast Ohio. The U.S. Marshals Service even featured Smith as its “Fugitive of the Week,” a program designed to draw public attention to violent offenders at large and generate tips from citizens. Despite that publicity and the passage of 16 months, Smith remained at large, moving between locations while avoiding capture.

Task force members eventually learned that Smith was residing in Ravenna, in Portage County. On Wednesday, officers arrested him at an address in the 100 block of Spruce Avenue. The arrest came quietly, without incident, marking a stark contrast to the violent scene that had unfolded on Albrecht Avenue 16 months earlier.

“This violent fugitive was on the run for over a year, but our task force officers never stop pursuing him. This arrest is a great example of the tenacity of our task force. We never stop pursuing those who commit violent crimes against the people of our communities,” U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said in a statement.

Felony Charges in Summit County

Smith is currently wanted by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office on charges of felonious assault and having weapons under disability. Both charges stem from the July 8, 2025 shooting, where the victim was wounded in the leg but survived after receiving hospital treatment. The case has now been bound over from Springfield Township to the county sheriff’s jurisdiction for prosecution.

U.S. Marshals Arrest Fugitive Wanted in 2025 Springfield Shooting

What began in July 2025 when police asked neighbors to keep their homes and cars locked against an armed and dangerous suspect became a search that lasted more than a year. The task force’s persistence spanned more than 480 days, crossing from Springfield Township into Ravenna, where Smith had apparently found refuge.

For Springfield Township residents who were asked in July 2025 to secure their homes and cars, the arrest ends the manhunt for the armed suspect. For the Ravenna neighborhood on Spruce Avenue, the arrest ends the search for the man wanted in the July 2025 shooting.

As Smith remains wanted by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, the arrest shows the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force never stopped pursuing the violent fugitive during the more than year-long search.

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