By Ray King
A $100,000 cash-only bond was set Friday for a Jefferson County man accused of fleeing from sheriff’s deputies on Monday and forcing the occupants of a vehicle to drive him away.
Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set the bond after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge Benny Smith, 22, with kidnapping and theft by receiving.
Deputy Prosecutor Mircha King said deputies were sent to the 4600 block of Highway 104 in response to a report of a green ATV that was running through yards and damaging property. Deputies saw the ATV traveling east and attempted to stop it but the driver, later identified as Smith, fled and deputies chased him until the ATV overturned and Smith fled on foot.
King said Smith then fled on foot with a K-9 chasing him and as the dog got close to Smith, he jumped through the back window of a pickup truck and asked the driver to “take him to safety.”
Smith was taken into custody Thursday when he visited his probation officer and when he was questioned, denied kidnapping the occupants of the truck and fleeing.
He was ordered to have no contact with the victims until the case is settled.
