CLEVELAND — Editor's Note: The video in the player above originally aired on September 24, 2020.
The man accused of knocking down a highway sign on Interstate 480 that fatally struck funeral home executive Daniel Ripepi in September of 2020, is now facing charges of kidnapping and interference with custody charges.
According to the indictment released Tuesday, 38-year-old Jason Beard "created substantial risk of serious physical harm or caused physical harm to [to his son]" in order to "knowingly remove [his son] from the place he was found."
In February, Beard was indicted on two charges of aggravated vehicular homicide for causing the death of 62-year-old Daniel Ripepi. The 38-year-old was scheduled to be arraigned in court on March 23 but failed to appear.
According to prosecutors, after Beard failed to appear in court; the mother of his 8-year-old son filed a missing person's report with the Warrensville Heights Police Department. She became concerned that Beard had not returned their son to her custody per their shared custody agreement, officials report.
The Warrensville Heights Police Department was able to ping Beard's phone and discovered that he was in Mexico. At this time, the Department enlisted the help of the FBI and US Marshals to assist in the investigation.
With the help of several law enforcement agencies, Beard was arrested on March 25 near Brownville, Texas. He was extradited back to Cuyahoga County to face the aforementioned charges.
His son was not harmed and has been released back into his mother's custody.
Beard was arraigned in court on Tuesday and entered a plea of not guilty to both charges. His bond was set at $300,000. As part of his bonds conditions, he is required to surrender his passport and undergo GPS monitoring.
His pretrial is scheduled for Tuesday, April 20 at 9 a.m.