A Lucas County man has been sentenced to prison for kidnapping a family member.
James McDowell, 40, appeared April 13 in the courtroom of Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman.
McDowell had pleaded guilty in February to kidnapping, a first-degree felony.
The charge qualifies as a violent offender offense, which will require McDowell to register annually for 10 years upon his release from prison.
Wood County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Dexter Phillips said pursuant to the plea and with approval of the victim, the state was recommending six to nine years in prison.
He alluded to texts and voice messages from McDowell to the victim the morning before the kidnapping occurred. He read several highlighted exchanges, including “I hate you, I’m going to hurt you,” “I’m coming to get you” and “I’m going to rip your throat out.”
McDowell told the victim to meet him in the parking lot at Great Eastern Shopping Plaza in Northwood. Bystanders called 911 to report a guy trying to kill a woman in the parking lot, Phillips said, and played the emergency call for the court.
The caller told 911 operators the man was in a woman’s car, trying to force her to drive away and she was screaming “leave me alone,” Phillips said.
McDowell left his red pickup truck parked in the lot, he said, which helped identify him.
Phillips added McDowell had violated a no contact order by using a child’s cell phone to send the messages.
The victim read a lengthy statement, explaining how she met McDowell and how he became verbally then physically abusive.
She said he told her if she told anyone about the abuse, he would harm her family.
As she explained their relationship, McDowell shook his head several times.
She said he started calling and texting her May 30, 2022, after she left for her parent’s house. She said she agreed to meet him to stop him from going to that house.
“I feel that if two witnesses hadn’t called 911, I would not be standing here today,” she said.
“This case has been difficult from its inception,” said defense attorney Phillip Browarsky.
Browarsky said he has had a chance to get to know his client in the past year.
“He screams and yells a lot of things … using a lot of profanity,” he said.
But they are all empty threats,Browarsky said, adding that his client has been a good worker for 20 years and takes being a father very seriously.
McDowell also made a lengthy statement after apologizing to the victim.
“I hurt you. I put you through a lot,” he said. “I said things I wished I didn’t say.”
He said he did not push her into her vehicle; she got in and they were heading toward the cemetery where his mother was buried.
“I had no intentions of kidnapping her,” he said, breaking into tears. “If I punched her like she’s saying, her whole face would be messed up. I’m a big boy.”
Kuhlman said the witnesses and the victim disagreed with McDowell’s explanation of what happened on May 30 and such a gross misinterpretation of the events shows the defendant does not feel remorse for his actions.
“You need to accept the fact that those text messages … coupled with your actions on May 30 tell a different story,” Kuhlman said.
He imposed a prison term of a minimum six years and an indefinite time of nine years since the offense falls within the Reagan Tokes Act requirements.
One charge of felonious assault and three charges of domestic violence were dismissed.
