The man charged with stabbing to death a Swansea woman Friday has a history of run-ins with police.

According to St. Clair County Circuit Clerk's Office records, Kristofer McDavid, 37, was awaiting trial on a 2011 battery charge at the time he is accused of stabbing a 50-year-old woman to death.

He was also identified by Belleville police as the man who claimed to be a hero by tackling and beating a teenager who allegedly was carrying a gun last year near Union School.

"He's the same one," Belleville Police Department Capt. Don Sax said of the man who told witnesses and reporters on the scene that he chased a 15-year-old boy who was walking on train tracks near the school and pointing guns at the campus.

Sax said a police investigation determined that McDavid's story was false. He said it was determined there was no physical contact between the murder suspect and the boy was later found to be in possession of a pellet gun. Police also said claims the boy was pointing the weapon at the elementary school proved false because the campus was not visible from the place where the teen was walking.

When asked why charges weren't filed against McDavid for filing a false police report, he said he wasn't sure why, but they were declined when the incident took place in December.

McDavid has a total of 26 charges against him on his county record sheet. But 23 of them involve traffic violations including multiple cases of driving on a suspended registration, driving without insurance, failure to wear a seat belt and driving with a suspended license. He was also charged in 2007 with resisting a peace officer and being a pedestrian under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Contact reporter Scott Wuerz at swuerz@bnd.com or call 239-2626.