Norfolk man who kidnapped mother of his child at gunpoint sentenced to 12 years

A Norfolk man was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison for the violent kidnapping of his child’s mother in 2022.

According to court documents, James Maloyd Hunter, II, 32, kidnapped the mother of his child on May 19, 2022, outside of her resident because he was allegedly upset the victim allowed her new boyfriend to be around the child.

Hunter and two co-conspirators went to the victim’s residence and confronted her. According to police, Hunter placed a firearm against her head and forced her into his vehicle. Once inside the vehicle, Hunter allegedly strangled the victim to stop her from screaming.

Hunter and his co-conspirators fled the scene to a hotel on Military Highway. Before departing the hotel, he zip-tied the victim’s hands together and forced her onto the floor of the back seat of the vehicle so no one could see her as they left the area.

Hunter was located the next day in Hocking County, Ohio, where local police stopped his vehicle and freed the victim.

Detectives recovered from Hunter’s vehicle a package of zip ties, a roll of duct tape, a hunting style knife, a pair of scissors and a receipt from Superior Pawn in Norfolk for the purchase of a firearm one week before the incident.

A search of Hunter’s phone revealed that he conducted multiple web searches for topics such as “tranquilizer darts for humans,” “directions to Colorado,” “do you need a passport to cross into Canada,” “sleeping sedative,” “how to put oil filter silencer on handgun,” and “homemade suppressor for handheld pistol.”