A Blackfoot man has been charged with kidnapping after he reportedly ambushed a woman at her apartment and at her apartment and locked her inside.
The victim told Blackfoot police officers that she was returning home at 3 a.m. Sunday when Skyler Smith, 37, grabbed her outside her apartment, took her inside. She said he prevented her from leaving or calling 911.
"(The victim) informed me that (Smith) then spent the rest of the night crawling around on the floor so that nobody could see him through the windows," the officer wrote in the probable cause affidavit.
Smith was not allowed to see or contact the victim due to a civil protection order she had filed against him.
The victim said she was afraid of how Smith would react if she attempted to leave or yell for help. She was not able to call 911 because Smith had her phone.
Smith was reportedly at the apartment all night. The victim said she woke up to hear her neighbors yelling for her. They told her they saw Smith driving away with her car. She had not given him permission to drive it.
Police responded to the residence at around 1:37 p.m. Security footage reportedly recorded Smith driving away from the residence in the victim's car.
The victim said the incident was not the first time Smith had violated the protection order. She said she had previously come home to find Smith cooking in her kitchen, and that he was there twice on Saturday.
Smith had reportedly kicked the apartment door in so many times, the landlord had refused to repair it. The victim said he would always take her phone immediately to stop her from calling police.
Police located and arrested Smith. He was charged with second-degree kidnapping, punishable with up to 25 years in prison. He was also charged with violation of a protection order, operating a vehicle without the owner's consent and disruption of a telecommunication line, all misdemeanors.
A no-contact order was issued between Smith and the victim. His bond was set at $100,000.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Bingham County Court.




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