A convicted felon from Alabama pleaded guilty to kidnapping.
According to the United States Department of Justice, 51-year-old Jeffrey Barton of Guinn pleaded guilty this week to kidnapping and being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson announced this information.
According to the plea agreement, in June 2022, the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a man reporting that Barton had been at his residence and forced his wife into a vehicle at gunpoint.
The DOJ says a deputy saw the vehicle the victim’s husband described leaving the driveway of the victim’s residence.
When the female victim in the vehicle saw the deputy’s patrol car, the DOJ reports she jumped out of the driver’s door and began running toward the deputy.
The DOJ says the deputy saw Barton in the back seat, and Barton got out of the vehicle with his hands above his head.
Officers found a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol on the ground next to the driver’s door when they searched the vehicle.
The DOJ says the maximum penalty for being a felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison, and the maximum penalty for kidnapping is life in prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case, along with the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office. The DOJ says Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristy Peoples is prosecuting the case.