A Vancouver man accused of kidnapping a woman he met up with at a Gresham, Ore., bar made a first appearance Thursday in Clark County Superior Court.
Baron D. Ashley, 31, faces allegations of second-degree kidnapping, theft of a motor vehicle and a community custody violation in connection with the incident, which reportedly occurred earlier this year, court records show.
A woman and Ashley had been communicating online for several weeks before they met at the bar Feb. 27. The woman said she and Ashley got into her car in the parking lot to talk, with Ashley in the driver’s seat. He allegedly started her car and left the area without her permission and refused to stop or go back to the bar, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Ashley drove to a residence in Vancouver, the woman said, and demanded that she perform sexual acts on him, according to court records. She said she refused and began “freaking out” because Ashley was yelling at her, the affidavit states.
She was able to get her keys back and tried to leave, but Ashley allegedly took them from her. He then pushed her out of the house, grabbed her by the arm and forced her into the car, according to the affidavit. She said he drove away at a high rate of speed, and she was unable to safely exit the vehicle, court records said.
The woman said she began texting and calling friends for help. She asked Ashley to stop and told him she wanted to go home, she said, but he refused and wouldn’t tell her where they were. She was eventually able to convince him to let her go at a store, according to court documents.
A friend who was on the open phone line told police she heard the victim crying and her requests to Ashley to let her go, the affidavit said. Ashley allegedly sent a text to the woman afterward and said he left her car in a parking lot and that he was sorry, court records show.
On Thursday, Judge Daniel Stahnke appointed Ashley an attorney and set his bail at $60,000.
He will be arraigned Sept. 29.
