An Alabama man has been arrested after Madison County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) deputies were notified of a possible kidnapping, following a victim's statements to a local store clerk.
MCSO Chief Deputy Epp Richardson reports that on Tuesday, Jan. 1, at approximately 12:01 a.m., the Madison County Communications center received a 911 call from a cashier at Jimmies Auto Port. The cashier advised the 911 operator that a white female had entered the store and asked the cashier to call for help because she had been kidnapped and was being held by a man with a knife.
MCSO immediately responded and upon arrival, the female was still in the store accompanied by the suspect. Officers identified the female and male subjects and initiated the investigation. The victim revealed she was the girlfriend of the male subject and had initially got in the vehicle with the suspect consensually. As the traveling continued, the victim began to request she be returned home but the male subject refused and pulled a knife on the victim, threatening to cut her. The suspect kept the knife in his lap while continuing to travel.
The victim continued to plea with the male subject to take her home, but the male subject became physical, punching the victim numerous times in the facial area while traveling and repeatedly threatened to kill her with the knife if she continued. The victim advised the male subject took her cell phone away from her to prevent her from calling for help. Upon arriving at Jimmies Auto Port, the victim found an opportunity to briefly ask the cashier to call for help.
The male subject was identified as Justin Ryan Haden, 30, of Webb, Ala. Haden advised he had taken the victim away from where she was having problems. The victim suffered obvious injuries consistent with her statements and the subject further confirmed the victim's statements relating to him having a knife and punching her.
The vehicle driven by the suspect was registered to the victim and a search of the vehicle discovered Haden’s personal belongings packed inside and none of the victim's. The knife and victim's cell phone were also discovered in the driver’s side door pocket.
Haden was arrested and transported to the county jail without further incident. Haden was charged with carjacking/robbery, kidnapping, battery domestic, aggravated assault, witness tampering and out of county warrant from Bay County.