A Gassville man whose charges include kidnapping and terroristic threatening stemming from a violent domestic altercation appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Wednesday.
Twenty-two-year-old Andrew Lee Upchurch pled guilty to his charges and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The incident involving the victim and Upchurch occurred March 15. Gassville police were called to an address along Bayless Court. The officer reported knocking repeatedly on the door but no one answered and he could hear no movement inside the residence so he left the scene.
A short time later, another call came in reporting Upchurch was holding a female against her will in a bedroom of the residence at the Bayless Court address.
When the officer arrived, he was let into the house by one of Upchurchs relatives and taken to a locked bedroom door at the end of a hallway.
His relative told Upchurch to unlock the door and come out, but he refused. However, when the officer repeated the request, Upchurch complied.
A LOT OF ARGUING AND FIGHTING
Upchurch was asked what was going on in the household and he is reported to have replied, “a lot of arguing and fighting.”
When Upchurch walked out of the bedroom, the officer was able to see the victim and observed injuries to her face.
The victim alleged that Upchurch had caused the injuries. At that point, a shoeless, shirtless Upchurch bolted from the house. A Be-On-The-Lookout message was broadcast for him.
After being checked at Baxter Health, the victim met with police. She reported the abuse started about 2 a.m. when Upchurch accused her of being untruthful and cheating on him.
DESERVE WHAT YOU GOT
She said Upchurch was “constantly” hitting her in the face during the attack. The victim described the blows as “open handed, but more forceful than a slap.”
The victim said Upchurch kept telling her she “deserved what she got.”
At one point, Upchurch was reported to have knocked the victim to the floor and gotten on her chest with both knees. He was alleged to have choked the victim and covered her mouth with his hand.
The victim said anytime she got close to the bedroom door, Upchurch would prevent her from reaching it.
He is reported to have forced the victim to finish a text message to her father advising that she was okay.
Upchurch is also alleged to have threatened the victim with a hammer. The head of the tool came off as he was swinging it, according to the probable cause affidavit.
He also threatened to cut the victim with a broken piece of glass.
THREAT TO CUT THROAT
The victim said she heard the first officer knocking on the door, but kept quiet because Upchurch was holding her and telling her he would slit her throat if she screamed.
During the altercation, Upchurch is alleged to have said he had friends he could “give” the victim to, and when they were finished raping her, they would sell her.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim had injuries to her face, neck, throat, back, side, arm and knee.
When he fled the home, Upchurch is said to have taken the victims car keys and cellphone.
The probable cause affidavit is silent on when and where Upchurch was arrested, but he was booked into the Baxter County jail about 6:30 p.m. on March 18, three days after the incident.
Upchurch has been an inmate in the Baxter County Detention Center since being arrested. He has made requests to have his $100,000 bond reduced, but Circuit Judge John Putman has refused the requests citing the seriousness of the charges.
In making his request to have his bond lowered, Upchurch has told the court he would wear an ankle monitor and abide by any other conditions that might be imposed on him by the court. Judge Putman still said no reduction.
Under the law, Upchurch will receive 222 days of credit for pre-trial time spent in the Baxter County Detention Center.
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