Kidnapping, theft case bound over to Carter County Grand Jury
Published 5:50 pm Tuesday, June 13, 2017
The case against a Carter County man charged with kidnapping and theft of a vehicle has been bound over to a Grand Jury.
Coby Lee Wilson, 27, of Elizabethton, appeared in Carter County General Sessions Court regarding multiple pending criminal cases. Wilson stands charged with kidnapping, theft of a motor vehicle over $10,000, eight counts of identity theft, five counts of fraudulent use of a credit/debit card, three counts of burglary of a motor vehicle, one count of theft from a motor vehicle, violation of probation, failure to comply with financial responsibility, driving on a revoked license, and running a stop sign.
Assistant Public Defender Jim Lonon informed the court Wilson had reached an agreement with the District Attorney’s Office regarding the traffic offenses. Wilson entered a guilty plea to a charge of violation of financial responsibility and was ordered to pay a $25 fine and court costs. The driving on a revoked license and stop sign violation charges were dismissed as part of that agreement.
Lonon requested the court reset the pending violation of probation case for a later date to gather more information regarding charges Wilson has pending in Criminal Court. Judge Keith Bowers granted that request and reset the violation of probation case to August 22.
The majority of the charges Wilson faced in General Sessions Court were bound over to a Carter County Grand Jury. Lonon informed the court Wilson was waiving his right to a preliminary hearing on the charges of kidnapping, theft of a motor vehicle over $10,000, eight counts of identity theft, five counts of fraudulent use of a credit/debit card, three counts of burglary of a motor vehicle, one count of theft from a motor vehicle.
Bowers bound those cases over and scheduled Wilson to appear in Carter County Criminal Court on Oct. 2 on those charges.
The kidnapping and theft of a motor vehicle over $10,000 charges stem from an investigation by the Elizabethton Police Department after a woman called 911 on April 7 and told dispatchers someone had stolen her SUV while her child was asleep inside it. The woman’s SUV was located a short time later by deputies with the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, who found it abandoned near the Dollar General Store on Highway 19E in Bluff City. The child was still inside the vehicle when it was found and, according to police, was unharmed.
During the investigation, officers developed Wilson as a suspect in the theft of the vehicle and kidnapping of the child who was asleep inside. According to court documents, video footage recovered from a security camera at a convenience store shows Wilson was driving the vehicle.
Wilson was captured by federal agents with the U.S. Marshal Service in Wytheville, Virginia days after the kidnapping. He was held in Virginia until extradition proceedings could be completed.
Wilson has several cases already pending in Criminal Court. He is scheduled to appear in Criminal Court on June 28 on charges of theft over $1,000, theft under $1,000, two counts of auto burglary, fourth offense driving on a revoked license, leaving the scene of an accident, and two counts of failure to appear.