Man accused of kidnapping estranged wife
By KAREN DAILY
Staff writer
An Aiken man accused of kicking in the front door at his estranged wife's home Tuesday morning and dragging her by her hair and shirt to his car is in jail facing serious charges, police say.
Barry J. Smith, 23, of the 500 block of Baldwin Road in Aiken, is charged with kidnapping and first-degree burglary.
The confrontation escalated at 24-year-old Valerie Wood's Morningside Drive home shortly before 8 a.m. when she came home from work, officials said.
The victim and her 4-year-old son had just returned when the man came running toward the house from the woods, said Lt. Michael Frank, an agency spokesman.
The 24-year-old woman who had borrowed a gun for protection fired at Smith, who briefly ran away. He tried to attack the victim a second time, but she again fired at the subject, Frank said.The victim locked herself inside the house, but the attacker kicked open the front door. He then dragged her by her hair and shirt to her automobile and drove away. The child was left alone but unhurt, Frank said.Deputies found the 4-year-old standing in the entryway of the residence. He told deputies a bad guy took his mother away.
Aiken Public Safety and deputies began searching the area for the vehicle seen speeding away from the home.
A neighbor said he called police after he heard the shots.
"I heard her scream and saw the Buick speed away," said neighbor Kern Bellinger.
Within minutes, law enforcement officers stopped the four-door sedan on Lloydtown Road and arrested Smith.
The victim was uninjured and was reunited with her son, Frank said.
She told deputies that her child was uninjured because she brought him inside and then went back to her car to get her lunchbox and the pistol.
She said she had been afraid of Smith and kept the gun for protection, officials said.When he had approached, she fired several shots at him, missing him each time, the incident report states.She said she locked herself inside but that he kicked in the door. She fired at him again, missing him that time as well. Since April 2006, deputies have responded to about 40 calls at the woman's home. Two calls were domestic disputes, and the remainder were burglaries and well-being and patrol checks, Frank said.The well-being and patrol checks were in response to the victim's fear of Smith, Frank said. "In addition to those calls, the sheriff's office also responded to calls for service at Baldwin Street," Frank said.
The pair at one time lived together at the Baldwin Street home.
Smith is being held at the Aiken County detention center.
Contact Karen Daily at
kdaily@aikenstandard.com
