A Boyd County, Kentucky, man pleaded guilty Wednesday in a kidnapping that led to a responding officer being shot in the neck and a large manhunt in May, federal prosecutors said.
Jonathan Lee Smithers, 41, of Catlettsburg is accused of kidnapping a woman he was in a romantic relationship with at gunpoint on May 1 and driving her to Flatwoods, Ky., where she eventually escaped, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky said.
When Smithers was approached by officers, he allegedly shot Flatwoods Police Officer Tommy Robinson in the neck. Robinson has since recovered.
Prosecutors said Smithers physically assaulted the woman with a weapon, forced her into a vehicle and then drove her to Flatwoods, where he forced her to walk with him on foot for several hours, according to the news release. The woman was eventually able to escape and law enforcement found her collapsed at a gas station.
Prosecutors said Smithers remained in the area on foot and was approached by officers when he was spotted coming out of the woods, which led to the shooting of Robinson.
The shooting sparked a large, hourslong manhunt in the area before Smithers was taken into custody early the next day.
Smithers faces a life sentence in connection with the kidnapping, according to the news release. He faces several separate charges in connection with the officer’s shooting.