Plea deal reached in kidnapping, domestic assault case

The prosecution and defense reached a plea agreement in a case in which a Bollinger County man is accused of kidnapping, beating and terrorizing his girlfriend.

Robert J. Reynolds, 30, of Leopold, Mo., had been set for trial this morning in Butler County on charges of kidnapping and second-degree domestic assault stemming from a June 1, 2012, incident.

Online court records show the trial was canceled after a plea deal was reached Wednesday, and Reynolds is scheduled for a plea hearing at 1 p.m. today.

Reynolds' girlfriend told a Bollinger County sheriff's deputy Reynolds "was really angry" after overhearing part of a telephone conversation in which she told a friend about a late car payment, Deputy Jerry Lee Gilliam wrote in a probable-cause statement filed in the case.

The victim told Gilliam she had suffered a broken pelvic bone and other injuries in a recent vehicle crash and had to rely on a walker, which Reynolds took away and threw out of her reach, Gilliam wrote.

Reynolds slammed the victim's head against a brick wall on the outside of the house, slapped her in the face with the back of his hand and revved a truck engine near her while she was on the ground, causing exhaust fumes to leak into her face and make it impossible for her to breathe, Gilliam wrote.

The victim eventually got back into the house and called her father, at which point Reynolds pushed her onto a bed, continued to beat her and eventually forced her into the truck, Gilliam wrote.

Reynolds drove the victim to a field near Bollinger County Road 614, where he initially threatened to bury her, then told her it was her "lucky day" and said he was going to kill himself in front of her instead, Gilliam wrote.

They eventually went back to the house, where Reynolds made the victim call her father back and tell him everything was fine, then apologized and asked his stepsister to take the victim to Jackson to get a prescription filled, Gilliam wrote.

In August 2012, Judge William Syler granted a defense motion for change of venue and sent the case to Butler County.

Details of the plea agreement were not available Wednesday.

Had Reynolds been convicted, he could have faced up to seven years in prison on the domestic assault charge and up to 15 years on the kidnapping charge.

Reynolds' attorney, Jason Tilley, was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

A woman answering the phone at Bollinger County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Gray's office Wednesday afternoon said Gray was out of the office and would not be back until today.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

County Road 614, Bollinger County, MO