Four people alleged to have kidnapped a man, shaved his head and beat him about the face and head because they reportedly believed he was in possession of stolen cellphones appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday.
The four suspected of being involved in the abduction and assault are 20-year-old Jonathan Farrar, 54-year-old James Seawell, and 54-year-old Jennifer Drzka, all of Mountain Home, and 33-year-old Sommer Taylor of Midway.
Drzka is alleged to have asked the other three people to help her retrieve the allegedly stolen cellphones.
All four entered not guilty pleas to charges of kidnapping and aggravated assault.
Kidnapping is a Class Y felony, the most serious classification of crime in Arkansas not punishable by the death penalty.
Bond for three of the four people charged in the incident was initially set at $250,000. During Monday’s court session, Drzka’s bond was lowered to $100,000. Seawell’s bond is shown as $500,000 on the Baxter County Sheriff’s electronic jail log.
ABANDONED BICYCLE BRINGS POLICE
The Mountain Home Police Department(MHPD) became involved on July 19 when notified that a bicycle abandoned at the Executive Inn was believed to be stolen.
When officers reviewed footage from video surveillance cameras, they saw what they believed to be a kidnapping in progress.
The video reportedly showed the victim being taken against his will and placed in the back of a vehicle by someone wearing a clown mask. It was later determined that Seawell had been wearing the mask, according to the MHPD.
BOLO ISSUED
A be-on-the-lookout was broadcast and the vehicle was found about an hour after the bolo was issued.
Officers found the victim along with Seawell, Taylor and Farrar in the vehicle. Drzka was not arrested with the trio. She was picked up at the Executive Inn after investigators reviewed surveillance camera footage and statements made to officers.
All four people who allegedly participated in the incident were booked into the Baxter County Detention Center on July 19.
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