Vancouver man sentenced to 5½ years in kidnapping of homeless man

A man who kidnapped a homeless man after ambushing him, his spouse and their dog inside their vehicle was sentenced Oct. 25 to 5 ½ years in prison.

John Wayne Maxwell, 38, of Vancouver pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to second-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault stemming from the April 1 incident. His co-defendant, Paul R. Woodman, 48, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Vancouver police were called about 11:30 a.m. to the 6000 block of Northeast St. Johns Boulevard for a reported kidnapping. The caller, Jennifer Talbot, said two men, one armed with a handgun, took her husband, Mark Hayes-Hanley. They threatened to shoot her husband and the couple’s dog if she called police, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

An uninjured Hayes-Hanley returned to the area hours later and was picked up by police. He told them that he was sleeping in his parked car and awoke to two men, later identified as Maxwell and Woodman, standing on each side of the car, the affidavit says.

Maxwell escorted Hayes-Hanley from the car and forced him into the bed of the assailants’ pickup while Woodman pointed a handgun at the couple. The assailants then drove him to a barn in the 10300 block of Northeast 119th Street, court records state.

Once at the barn, the men ordered Hayes-Hanley to get on his knees and Maxwell held a handgun to his head, then forced the firearm into his mouth. Hayes-Hanley said he closed his eyes before hearing a loud explosion near his right ear. Woodman knocked him to the ground and instructed him to leave the area. Hayes-Hanley ran away and went back to his car to make sure Talbot was safe, according to court documents.

Surveillance video at the scene of the kidnapping captured the abduction.