A Qulin, Mo., man accused of beating and holding his girlfriend against her will was arrested early Tuesday morning during a traffic stop in which suspected narcotics were found.
Jesse Benjamin Chaffin, 36, was arrested at 3:16 a.m. when his SUV was stopped at the intersection of Ninth and Cherry streets.
Less than an hour earlier, Poplar Bluff Police Patrolman T.J. Akers contacted Chaffin's 20-year-old girlfriend at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center.
The woman, according to Akers' report, alleged Chaffin had held her hostage and would not let her leave his "house somewhere in Qulin."
While there, the woman further alleged Chaffin tied her up, beat her with a belt and a cord and pushed her off a bed.
"She tried to run, but Jesse's mother ... held the door and would not let her out of the house," Akers said.
The woman, Akers said, reported she had asked Chaffin to go to her mother's home in the 1100 block of North Main Street.
"Once at her mother's house, Jesse became enraged" and "grabbed a bat and came at her," Akers said.
The woman's mother, Akers said, was able to get her daughter in a vehicle to leave.
"Jesse came over with a bat and opened the door," Akers said. "(The elder woman) was able to convince Jesse the police were coming, and he left.
"Jesse chased them down Main Street. (He) chased them all the way to the police station. Once Jesse saw the police, he left east on Poplar."
Chaffin's alleged victim, Akers said, further reported she saw Chaffin allegedly run the stop sign at Poplar and 11th Street in front of a police officer and get pulled over.
At that point, Akers said, the woman was taken to the hospital for treatment.
"I observed bruising all over (her) body, and she had a fresh cut on her right knee," Akers said. "Her right wrist was red and swollen, and she complained of left shoulder pain."
Akers said the woman's left clavicle area was bruised.
"She stated it hurt to move her arm," said Akers, who indicated X-rays showed the woman had a broken clavicle, and a doctor reported her shoulder was separated.
While speaking with the woman, Akers said, she also reported an earlier incident in which Chaffin allegedly kidnapped her from at a Poplar Bluff convenience store.
During that incident, the woman reported she and Chaffin had been arguing, and he would not let her out of the vehicle.
"She managed to exit the vehicle and go inside" the store, Akers said. "She waited on them to leave, and she started to walk to her mother's house."
The woman alleged Chaffin and another man drove up beside her, and "Jesse got out and forcefully put her in the truck," Akers said. "Jesse beat her."
While en route to Qulin on Highway 53, Akers said, the woman reported they stopped and Chaffin got out.
"She tried to get out and run, but (the other man) was holding the door shut, not allowing her to escape," Akers said. "Jesse grabbed her out of the truck and threw her in the ditch.
"(He) grabbed her by the throat to the point she could not breathe. (He) then threw her back in the truck."
The woman, Akers said, was taken to the residence of Chaffin's mother, where he "held her there all night, not allowing her to leave. (He) hit and beat her all night."
The next day, Akers said, the woman reported Chaffin allowed her to leave, but she did not because "she thought it was a trap."
As the woman spoke with Akers and was treated before her release from the hospital, Patrolman Austin Lemonds was assisting Cpl. Steve Nance in contacting Chaffin.
Chaffin, according to Lemonds report, was arrested, cuffed and placed in a patrol car.
"While standing at the driver's side window (of Chaffin's SUV), a glass pipe with a white residue was observed in the passenger floor board of the vehicle," Lemonds said. "Due to seeing narcotic equipment in plain view, a search of the vehicle was conducted."
In addition to the pipe, Lemonds said, he found a coin purse in the middle console, which held three bags of a brown powder substance, a bag containing a crystal substance; a bag containing yellow and crushed blue pills, multiple empty bags, one bag with white residue and a glass pipe with a white residue.
A scale with white residue, Lemonds said, also was found in the center console.
All the items were seized, as was nearly $200, which was found on Chaffin's person and was believed to be proceeds from drug sales, Lemonds said.
Chaffin was arrested on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree domestic assault, three counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked at the Butler County jail.