Court records: Fayetteville teen found abused and drugged in a Kentucky home on Christmas
KINGS MOUNTAIN, KENTUCKY — A Kentucky man was arrested on Christmas Day after allegedly kidnapping a Fayetteville, North Carolina, teen and holding her captive across state lines at his home in Kings Mountain, Kentucky, court records show.
Zackary Keith Jones, 34, is charged with two counts of unlawful transaction with a minor and one count each of third-degree rape, third-degree sodomy, unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited activities, third-degree terroristic threatening, fourth-degree assault, strangulation, resisting arrest, unlawful imprisonment, possession of cocaine and tampering with physical evidence in the kidnapping of a 16-year-old Fayetteville girl, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said.
The Fayetteville Observer does not identify victims of suspected sexual abuse.
The kidnapping
According to an arrest warrant, Jones first made contact with the girl online two to three weeks before Christmas, claiming to be 19.
He arrived in North Carolina on Dec. 6 to pick the girl up from her grandmother's custody. Jones allegedly lied about his age and claimed to be 25 after the girl said he looked older than 19, the warrant states.
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The girl said in the warrant that once they arrived in Kentucky and met Jones' family, she found out he was 34. He then allegedly threatened her and told her to tell everyone she met that she was 18, according to court records. The girl told authorities that Jones was armed with a .22 caliber handgun and threatened to shoot and kill her multiple times, the warrant states.
The girl stated in the warrant that Jones was pulled over for a traffic violation in Lincoln County on the night he picked her up and allegedly told her he would shoot the officer if the officer asked them to get out of the vehicle.
Christmas arrest
According to the warrant, Jones' mother called the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office on Dec. 25 to report a "domestic violence situation" at Jones' home in the 1400 block of Robertstown Road. When deputies arrived at the scene just after 5 p.m., Jones allegedly told them the woman he was with had fled, even though his mother told deputies she never left the house, the warrant states.
Court records show that drugs and paraphernalia were located during a search of the home, which Jones allegedly tried to dispose of using a wood stove in the bedroom. Deputies had to "subdue him and confiscate the paraphernalia" before taking him to their law enforcement vehicle, records state.
According to the Sheriff's Office, the girl "was found inside a bed room with a cut out door in the floor covered by a rug."
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The girl told deputies that Jones allegedly threatened her, strangled her and engaged in sexual contact with her since bringing her to Kentucky, the warrant stated. She also alleged that Jones used crack cocaine and marijuana with her during the weeks she was kidnapped and, according to the warrant, was "very high" at the time of Jones' arrest.
Jones allegedly told the Sheriff's Office that he engaged in sexual activity with the girl at least 10 times and got her high on marijuana and crack cocaine, but he denied choking her, even though there were visible marks on the juvenile's throat, the warrant states. Jones also stated in the warrant that the girl begged him to kill her.
Lincoln County Sheriff's Deputy Ron Luster told The Fayetteville Observer on Friday that Jones will receive federal charges as well as charges in Lincoln County and Cumberland County.
Jones remains in Pulaski County Detention Center Friday without bail.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Kentucky man charged with kidnapping Fayetteville teen
