WASHINGTON PARISH, La. — Multiple law enforcement agencies spent three hours searching for 37-year-old James Ballard after he was accused of kidnapping a woman on Monday afternoon.
Police say he and the woman had a complicated past, and this isn’t his first run-in with the law.
On Monday afternoon, the victim called the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, claiming Ballard was holding her against her against her will.
“It’s unfortunate that we have situations like this,” Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Candice Carona Sledge said.
Two hours later, Washington Parish Sheriff’s deputies found the victim along the Bogue Chitto River near Highway 16 in Enon.
“She is safe and sound and will be allowed to go as soon as she is over,” Sledge said.
After a multi-hour manhunt in Bogue Chitto State Park, deputies found him lying in a ditch and arrested him.
“It was a huge area,” Sledge said. “Washington Parish is a huge area and very wooded. He was found without incident, so we are lucky that we have these resources and they are at our fingertips.”
The suspect’s relationship with the victim and with law enforcement didn’t start on Monday.
“My understanding is that they had history, and she had a history with the family, and this was not a completely new incident,” Sledge said.
Two years ago, Ballard was arrested after he was accused of pouring acid and bleach on the same victim’s face.
“This was not his first time to have run-ins with the law, and we hope that this is the last one, and he will be put away for a long time now,” Sledge said.
Officials say the victim also sustained major bruising to her body during the incident, including a punctured lung and busted ear drum. He was out on parole when he was arrested on Monday.
“You can’t go around harming people like this. He’s going to have to face justice for this,” Sledge said.
Ballard will be extradited to Tangipahoa Parish to face his charges.
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