Oklahoma man sentenced for holding woman at gunpoint, forcing her to drive to Texas

A Perry man was sentenced this week to 52 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting a woman and forcing her to drive at gunpoint to the Texas coast.

In Oklahoma City federal court, U.S. District Judge Scott L. Palk said the behavior of Zachary Charles Fowler, 24, was “horrendous and dehumanizing,” and the nature of the case was “horrific and terrifying.”

About 3 a.m. in March 2022, Fowler showed up at the house of a woman who had ended their relationship. Prosecutors said the woman had evicted Fowler from the house, and since her back door did not work, she had tied it closed with an extension cord. Fowler found shears on the property and cut through the extension cord.

Fowler found the woman’s bedroom door locked and kicked it several times until it broke down.

They each reached for a gun the woman kept on a bedside table, but Fowler strangled her until she passed out, prosecutors said. When she awoke, Fowler sexually assaulted her.

Prosecutors said Fowler then forced the woman at gunpoint to drive him to Corpus Christi, Texas. Fowler wanted to go to Corpus Christi because he “wanted to see the beach before he died,” according to court documents.

Along the way, he sexually assaulted the woman at gunpoint. He also forced her to send messages to her family and boss saying she was safe, prosecutors said.

She escaped in Corpus Christi. Fowler was arrested by local authorities in Texas.

A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Fowler, charging him with kidnapping, carjacking, and using and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

During a three-day trial in May 2023, a federal jury found Fowler guilty on all counts.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma man sentenced to prison in sexual assault and kidnapping case