Woman calls for help; hides from alleged kidnappers until deputies arrive
It reads almost like the script to a movie; a woman held hostage by alleged drug manufacturers, makes her great escape and hides while she waits for help to arrive and rescue her.
In this version, her salvation came in the form of deputies with the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Department, who arrested three individuals and allowed the woman to leave the area and return home.
According to Maj. Andy Shock, deputies responded to 217 Otto Road in Vilonia about 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning and made contact with Bonnie Cronce who stated that she had been kidnapped and was hiding in a bush outside the home.
When the deputies arrived at the home, Cronce came out of the bushes and advised that she had been staying at the home with Marchello Miller for a few days and would pay him some rent when her disability check came in. The woman stated that Miller always carried a gun on his person and told her he was not afraid to kill someone and that she was not allowed to leave his home until she paid him the rent she owed him.
The deputies attempted to speak with Miller and even though they heard people inside the home, no one would answer the door. Shock said that the deputies decided to try a different tactic to speak with Miller.
“Basically, while one deputy took Cronce to meet a friend who would take her home, the other deputies decided to drive down the road and wait to see if the occupants of the home would come outside,” he explained. “After several minutes the occupants of the home came outside where deputies made contact with them.”
When the deputies approached Miller, they retrieved a hand gun from his person. He told them that Cronce had been staying at his house for the past four or five days with two other women, Katherine Dunn and Jana Whitely, and they had all been “doing dope together”.
Miller admitted that he had told Cronce that she was not allowed to leave his home, but stated that it was because she had used about $350 of methamphetamine and he wanted paid before she could go anywhere. The man said that Cronce only had about $150 on her Social Security debit card and she was staying with him until she got paid for the month of February.
Dunn and Whitely confirmed Miller’s story.
When the officers entered Miller’s home, they discovered a meth lab with about a half a gram of the drug and a hand gun.
Miller was arrested and charged with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and manufacturing a controlled substance.
Dunn was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia but was also held due to an outstanding warrant from the Cabot Police Department.
Whitely was charged with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of firearms by certain persons (which is a person who already has a felony conviction and is prohibited from possessing a firearm), possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and manufacturing a controlled substance.
Shock said that while they believe Cronce suffered some trauma from the incident, the investigation did not yield enough evidence to charge anyone with kidnapping.
(Candie Beck is a staff writer and can be reached at 505-1238 or at candie.beck@thecabin.net)
Comments (22)
Add commentWonderful
Our tax dollars at work.
I have to pass a drug test to earn my paycheck. Shouldn't someone on government assistance have to pass a drug test in order to receive a portion of my paycheck that they didn't earn?
Go figure
While it was wrong to keep her there, she was probably doing just what they were but didn't get arrested.
You just can't make this stuff up.
Hes pimping out the women and
Hes pimping out the women and selling Meth nothing new except now there moving to rural areas you can see these guys a mile away no telling what hes done to the women someone should have called before he got the local s hooked and pimped out.
I think the real lesson here...
...is to avoid Otto Rd. at all costs..
to be or not to be
"she had used about $350 of methamphetamine and he wanted paid before she could go anywhere"
It sounds like to me that she
It sounds like to me that she wanted to do the drugs but didn't want to pony up the money she owed.
whoa
What gave you that idea?
My Ma, My Ma, My Mamma say
If you sleep with dirty dogs, your gonna get fleas
I'm sure at some point
the phrase "betta have my money" was used.
I paid in for years
If you paid in it's yours. If you have a 401 do you think the company you worked for should tell you how to use it when you retire. Which is what you pay it in for. Now if it was food stamps, or something like that it would be different. As you pay in for years I don't see it being government assistance. It's your due. Arrest them all. Money is wasted on drugs however you got it. It's also against the law. If she got put in prison her up keep would be more than she probably draws.