A 20-year-old Oak Harbor man is accused of kidnapping and assaulting his girlfriend after she tried to break up with him, court documents show.
Prosecutors charged Eugene Carter in Island County Superior Court June 17 with first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, interfering with reporting domestic violence and assault in the third degree involving a law enforcement officer.
Carter pleaded not guilty June 30. He is being held in jail on $150,000 bail.
Sgt. Mike Beech with the Island County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 hang-up call on North Whidbey June 14. He arrived at the home and encountered Carter, who said there was no problem and he had just dialed by accident. But a woman, who looked as if she had been crying, came out of the house and said she was leaving.
Another deputy took the woman aside. In interviews that night and the next day, the woman claimed that Carter had held her captive in his home for about 24 hours, the report states. She said the ordeal started when she tried to break up with him on the night of June 13.
The alleged victim said Carter blocked her from leaving and even dragged her back inside the house, Beech wrote. She claimed Carter covered her nose and mouth and prevented her from breathing until she nearly passed out, the report shows. She said Carter threatened to kill her.
Also, the woman said Carter grabbed her and threw her on the bed.
“She was in fear of her life and afraid to leave the residence,” Beech wrote.
After Carter was arrested, he reportedly started slamming his head against the patrol car window. Beech grabbed him and forced him into the car. Beech wrote that Carter kicked him in the face. In response, Beech punched him in the face and drew his Taser in warning. The suspect settled down.
According to the report, Carter admitted that he had kept his girlfriend from calling 911 and that “he had put his hands on her physically.”
If convicted of the charges, Carter would face from 10 to more than 13 years in prison under the standard sentencing range.
