An altercation at a Winfield home Sunday landed one baseball-bat wielding man in jail and set off a search for a second person involved in the incident, Winfield police officials said Monday.
Willie D. Smith, 32, was arrested and booked into the Cowley County Jail on charges of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated battery, two counts criminal damage to property, three counts of criminal threat and three counts aggravated assault.
Smith’s bond was set at $50,000.
The incident began at around 11:30 a.m. when officers were dispatched to 1823 John Street to investigate a report of a man trying to forcefully enter the residence. When officers arrived they encountered Smith, who had a bat in his hand.
Officers engaged the subject and were able to subdue him and take him into custody. During the investigation of the incident, officers were told Smith struck two people with the bat. One of the individuals, a male, was able to flee on foot.
“This is an ongoing problem with these people that finally came to a head,” Police Chief Jerry DeVore said this morning.
A kidnapping charge stems from allegations that Smith forced a female victim, who was also struck with the bat, into a car as Smith searched for the victim who fled. Police spent several hours investigating the scene Sunday.
After a lengthy search, the fleeing victim was identified as Terry Osket, 24, Wichita. The female victim has not been named.
The home where the incident began was a rental property owned by Winfield City Commissioner Mike Ledy. He visited with a NewsCow reporter Sunday as he prepared to fix a door jam damaged in the altercation.
Ledy said the people involved in the incident were acquaintances of his daughter, who lives at the rental property. They were not residents of the property.
Ledy said there was some property damage, including some busted car windows, but he was happy that no one seemed to be seriously injured.
“I don’t think anyone ended up in the hospital,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”
