Hall County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a North Carolina man early Tuesday and freed a woman who said she was being held against her will in the cab of his tractor-trailer.
“At approximately 6 a.m….deputies responded to a call from the victim, 59, who was being held against her will in the semi-truck parked around Monroe Drive and Danbury Lane,” sheriff’s office spokesman Derrick Booth said Wednesday afternoon. “As deputies arrived, the truck’s lights came on. A man got out, and so did the caller, who told deputies she needed law enforcement help. Deputies detained the man, identified as Richard Casey Cornett, 50. They spoke with the two parties, who are both from Statesville, North Carolina.”
Cornett and the victim, who had an on-again, off-again romantic relationship, reportedly departed Statesville approximately four days before the local incident. “During the trip, Cornett started refusing to let the victim leave the truck, physically forcing her back inside each time she tried to get away. He allegedly threatened to kill her and himself several times,” Booth added.
“During the victim’s Tuesday 911 call in Hall County, Cornett grabbed her phone and attempted to smash it to prevent her from providing their location to communications officers.”
Deputies arrested Cornett following the preliminary investigation, charging him with kidnapping and false imprisonment and interfering with an emergency call. He also is charged with possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance. Deputies said they found a handgun and about two grams of crack cocaine in the driver’s door area of the truck.
Cornett is being held without bond and deputies assisted the victim, who did not suffer injury, with arranging transportation home.