KAIT-Jonesboro, AR-News, weather, sports, classifiedsBaxter County man charged with keeping family imprisoned

Baxter County man charged with keeping family imprisoned

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Justin Lee Hutson (Source: Baxter County Sheriff's Office) Justin Lee Hutson (Source: Baxter County Sheriff's Office)

BAXTER COUNTY, AR (KAIT)-  A Baxter County man faces felony charges after investigators say he falsely imprisoned his family in a basement.

According to the Baxter County Sheriff's Office, Justin Lee Hutson, 26, from Clarkridge was arrested without incident Saturday before 11:00a.  Sheriff John Montgomery states deputies learned from several witnesses and evidence at the scene that Hutson and his wife had been fighting Friday night.

Officers say Hutson physically grabbed a 4-year-old and 5-year-old child and attempted to put them in a vehicle.  When Hutson's wife tried to stop him, police say he threw her to the ground and kicked her about her head and shoulders.

Then police say Hutson forced the children and his wife into the car and threatened get his guns and kill them.  He then drove several hours in Baxter, Fulton and Izard Counties before returning home.

The sheriff's office believes at that point Hutson took away his wife's cell phone and locked her and the two children in the basement.

On Saturday morning, officers say Hutson gave the cell phone back to his wife to allow her to call her sister to avoid any suspicion.  Investigators say she was able to covertly alert her sister as to what had happened, her sister then called authorities for help.

Justin Hutson faces the following charges:

Domestic Battery, 3rd Degree                                      Class A Misdemeanor
Endangering the Welfare of a Minor, 2 Counts            Class A Misdemeanor
Interference with Emergency Communications            Class A Misdemeanor
Terroristic Threatening, 1st Degree                              Class D Felony
False Imprisonment, 1st Degree                                   Class C Felony

Hutson is being held on a $20,000 bond in the Baxter County Detention Center.  He will appear in court on February 23.

Copyright 2012 KAIT. All rights reserved.

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