A Chandler man has been charged with kidnapping following his arrest in early March.
Tyronne Ashly Long, 40, was formally charged in Lincoln Coutny District Court on March 12. He is accused of holding Rachelle Bannister against her will on March 8 this year in Lincoln County.
Long appeared before Associate District Judge Sheila Kirk on March 9 and she set bond at $25,000 with the condition he have no contact with the victim.
On March 15, Long reappeared before Judge Kirk and she reduced his bond to $10,000 with the same condition. His pre-preliminary hearing was held on April 1.
Special Judge Emily Mueller on that date set a preliminary hearing for Long at 1:30 p.m. on April 15.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Bannister told investigators Long picked her up between noon and 1 p.m. on March 8 at her residence on SH 18 in Lincoln County.
She advised officers she and Long had planned to go fishing around Perkins but had difficulty getting their fishing poles so they changed plans to visit a friend named Peyton in Perkins.
The two stopped at her sister’s house in Chandler and she told officers they used methamphetamine and that after Tyronne used meth he became “manic.” After leaving the sister’s house, Bannister said they drove county roads around Chandler for several hours.
She related to investigators that around 4:45 she began to text a friend named Herbert and told him she was trying to get a ride home and Tyronne was acting crazy. She said she told him numerous times to take her home, and he told her he would take her home but never did.
Bannister advised officers she was scared of Tyronne. When asked about their relationship, she acknowledged they had been dating on and off for the last year.
She told them while driving around Tyronne used meth again and she pleaded with him not to do that.
They stopped at a gas station in Sapulpa and she went inside to pay for it. She didn’t run from the vehicle, she told officers, because she was embarrassed she had urinated in her pants.
Eventually they got on the Turner Turnpike headed westbound. She attempted to get out but Tyronne grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her holding her in the vehicle, she advised an investigator.
Lincoln County Sheriff Sgt. Larry Stover says in the affidavit a ping of Bannister’s phone led Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troopers to locate the vehicle in Creek County on the turnpike.
Bannister told the officers a trooper passed them while they were stopped, but a short time later they were stopped by a trooper.
The trooper arrived at the Lincoln County Jail shortly before 2 a.m. on March 9 with both the victim and Tyronne.