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Paducah Man Faces Kidnapping, Weapons Charges

Paducah Man Faces Kidnapping, Weapons Charges
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By West Kentucky Star Staff
Oct. 07, 2015 | PADUCAH, KY
By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 07, 2015 | 03:44 PM | PADUCAH, KY
A Paducah man faces kidnapping and other charges, after police say he took three people hostage and threatened them at gunpoint.



On the evening of September 30, Paducah police officers responded to a disturbance in the area of North 6th and Finley streets. When they arrived, they found a two-vehicle collision from which four people had fled, a driver who said a man had pointed a gun at her and 58-year-old Vernon E. Ward on the back porch of his home on 7th Street with apparent stab wounds to his head and neck.



Several patrol officers and detectives responded to the scene. Detectives said that Ward became upset with a woman he is acquainted with, her son and another young man, thinking one of them had stolen marijuana from him. Armed with a handgun, Ward had confronted the two young men that afternoon at his home. They denied taking the marijuana and Ward forced them at gunpoint into a car and drove them to the woman’s home on Linden Street.



Police said that Ward confronted all three at the woman's home about the alleged missing marijuana, and all three denied stealing it. Ward then reportedly forced the woman, her son and the other young man into the car at gunpoint, took their cell phones and began to drive back to his home on North 7th Street.



Police said that while driving, Ward continued to threaten to kill the trio if they didn’t return his missing marijuana. When Ward pointed the gun at the woman, her son began fighting with Ward over the handgun. During the struggle, he pulled a knife and stabbed Ward three times in the neck and head. 



During the struggle, Ward’s vehicle crashed into the rear of another vehicle, and the woman, her son and the other young man jumped out of Ward’s vehicle and fled on foot. Ward got out, pointed the handgun at the other driver, and left the scene on foot, heading toward his house a few blocks away.



Ward was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and the three kidnap victims were interviewed. Detectives served a search warrant at Ward’s home later that day and recovered the handgun used in the incident from bedroom dresser, along with methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.



Ward was arrested Wednesday and charged with three counts of kidnapping, first-degree wanton endangerment, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, first-degree possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked into McCracken County Regional Jail. Additional charges are pending.



Police said no charges are anticipated against any of the three kidnap victims.
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