A manhunt that stretched across more than a year ended in Ravenna on Wednesday, November 4, when members of the U.S. Marshals-led Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested Stanley Smith, 41, according to a release from the U.S. Marshals Service. Smith was wanted by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office on charges of felonious assault and having weapons under disability, the Marshals Service said.
The arrest took place at an address in the 100 block of Spruce Avenue in Ravenna, in neighboring Portage County, after investigators recently learned Smith was living in the city, the Marshals Service said. The release did not describe any resistance or injuries during the arrest, and it did not say how long Smith had been at that address.
The case began on July 8, 2025, in Springfield Township, a Summit County community southeast of Akron. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Smith was involved in an incident that day at an address in the 1400 block of Albrecht Avenue, during which he allegedly shot a victim in the leg and fled the scene. The Springfield Township Police Department issued a warrant for Smith the same day, July 8, 2025, and the case was later bound over to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, the Marshals Service said.
Earlier coverage by the Akron Beacon Journal likewise reported that Springfield Township police issued the warrant in July 2025 and that Smith was accused of shooting and hospitalizing a victim who was not publicly identified. The Beacon Journal also reported that Smith was known to frequent the Akron and Cleveland areas, which helps explain why the search ranged across Northeast Ohio.
Task force members began searching for Smith in July 2025, immediately after the warrant was issued, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Over the months that followed, investigators conducted several interviews and followed investigative leads, the agency said, and Smith was at one point featured as the U.S. Marshals’ “Fugitive of the Week” — a public appeal that puts a wanted person’s name and case in front of a regional audience in hopes of generating tips.
“This violent fugitive was on the run for over a year, but our task force officers never stop pursuing him,” U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said in the U.S. Marshals Service release. “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.”
The timeline, as laid out by the U.S. Marshals Service, runs in three parts: the July 8, 2025 shooting and warrant in Springfield Township; a search lasting more than a year, carried out through interviews, leads and the Fugitive of the Week feature; and a recent break in the investigation, when the task force learned Smith was residing in Ravenna, followed by his arrest there on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Charges remain allegations, and Smith is presumed innocent unless and until he is convicted in court.
The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force’s Akron Division is a multi-agency effort, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Its roster includes the U.S. Marshals Service, the Akron, Barberton, Copley Township, Cuyahoga Falls, Fairlawn, Hudson, Kent, New Franklin, Northfield, Norton, Tallmadge and Twinsburg police departments, the Medina County Sheriff’s Office, the Portage County Sheriff’s Office, the Reminderville Police Department, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio Adult Parole Authority and the Wayne County Court of Common Pleas — a structure designed for exactly this kind of case, where a suspect wanted in one county is found living in another.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on. Confirmed by the U.S. Marshals Service: Smith, 41, was arrested Wednesday in the 100 block of Spruce Avenue in Ravenna; he was wanted by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office for felonious assault and having weapons under disability; and the underlying incident happened July 8, 2025, in the 1400 block of Albrecht Avenue in Springfield Township, where a victim was shot in the leg. Still unknown from Wednesday’s release: the victim’s current condition, whether Smith made any statement to investigators, where he is being held, and when he will first appear in court.
For residents of Springfield Township, the arrest closes a long-open chapter. The Albrecht Avenue shooting happened in the summer of 2025, and for more than a year the man accused in that shooting remained at large while investigators worked the case largely out of public view. The case now moves out of the manhunt phase and into the court system, where the allegations will be tested in court.
The Marshals Service used Wednesday’s announcement to remind the public that fugitive tips can still matter in other open cases. Anyone with information about a wanted fugitive can contact the task force at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833) or submit a web tip through the U.S. Marshals Service, the agency said. Reward money is available, and tipsters may remain anonymous.
What happens next is the court process in Summit County, where the charges against Smith originate. He faces proceedings on the felonious assault and having weapons under disability charges the Marshals Service listed, and court filings and a first appearance date are expected to follow his booking. NewsForce247 will follow the case as those records become available and will update this coverage when a court date and custody status are confirmed by officials.
Photo: Raymond Wambsgans, CC BY