A New Kensington man convicted of kidnapping a woman he met online in 2022 was sentenced to serve five to 10 years in prison for what a Westmoreland County prosecutor called a chilling crime.

“This defendant is more dangerous than anyone else I could imagine. The facts of this case, quite frankly, are a single woman’s worst nightmare, especially in the world of online dating,” said Assistant District Attorney Katie Ranker during a sentencing hearing Thursday for Steven Daniel Best Jr.

Best, 41, was convicted of kidnapping and robbery in October.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears sentenced Best to serve five to 10 years in prison.

Best, a former mixed martial arts fighter who stands 6 feet, 9 inches tall and about weighs 400 pounds, used his size to prevent a woman from leaving his home for three hours, prosecutors said.

Angela Gregory, 42, of Hubbard, Ohio, a single mother of three children, testified she met Best on social media and traveled to Pennsylvania for dates. During her third visit in late December 2022, she spent the night at his New Kensington home but that date that ended after a falling out, she said.

She testified Best became enraged after she attempted to return home to Ohio early the next day to attend a family function.

Best blocked the doors, shut off the lights, closed the blinds and held her captive in the basement. He used his large body to keep her from escaping, she testified. He took her cellphone when she threatened to call police, and she was only able to escape after she spent several hours professing love and promising to continue the relationship, she testified.

Best continued to stalk and harass Gregory after she returned to Ohio, prosecutors said.

Gregory was unable to attend Thursday’s sentencing hearing, but Ranker read a letter in which Gregory detailed the impact the kidnapping has had on her life for the past two years.

“It’s hard to put into words the fear and terror I had that day,” Gregory wrote. “I am in constant fear and unable to trust anyone, which affects my life greatly. The crime he committed lasted only one day, but it has affected me for the rest of my life.”

Best did not testify during the two-day trial.

On Thursday, he said he intended to cause no harm and blamed his behavior on alcohol consumption.

“Being a man with a big heart has gotten me in trouble before. My intoxicated mind was working against me. Inside this big body is a protector, not a menace,” Best said.

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