by Kate Shunney
Police have charged a man with kidnapping and wanton endangerment with a firearm after responding to a Great Cacapon residence late on Friday, January 24 and finding a woman being held against her will in a Hammond Street home.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Morgan County Magistrate Court by Deputy J.C. Burkholder, James Alban Jr., 55, of Baltimore had screwed the windows and doors of the residence closed to keep the victim from leaving or anyone from getting in the structure.
Police were called to the residence by a third party, who said Alban had threatened to kill the victim.
Deputy Burkholder, Lt. Seth Place and Cpl. Scott Lemon responded to the home shortly before midnight. According to court documents, Lt. Place was able to make visual contact with the victim inside the residence, and she signaled a need for help. Lt. Place forced entry into the home by breaking through a door that had been barricaded.
Once inside, police found the victim in the bedroom and Alban in the doorway, in the nude.
The victim alleged Alban had struck her several times in the head and face, and police reported confirming injuries to her.
Police found a hole in the wall and door of the residence, and holes in a fence outside that were consistent with the victim’s report that Alban had shot a long gun in her direction inside the home. According to the complaint, officers located a Stevens 12 gauge shotgun with a spent round under the bed. Officers also found windows and doors that had been secured shut with screws, and a screw gun with the bit removed near where Alban slept, the complaint said.
Alban allegedly told police he had fired the shotgun by accident. Deputy Burkholder described Alban as having slurred speech and poor balance. Police allegedly also found evidence of illicit drugs in the residence at the time of the incident.
Alban is being held without bond at the Eastern Regional Jail.
