Indianapolis Star Tribune
ANDERSON, Ind. — A man tied up his attorney and then stole his SUV on Monday as they were returning to jail from a hearing in Indianapolis, police said.
Anderson police were seeking 52-year-old Richard L. Hudson, who was described as 5-10, 150 pounds with blue eyes, gray hair and a full beard. He was last believed to be driving the attorney’s red 2007 Ford Escape.
Police did not immediately release the name of the attorney, but Anderson attorney Thomas Hamer told media that he was the lawyer who was abducted.
Hamer said he had gone with Hudson to a Social Security disability hearing in Indianapolis and they were returning to the jail in Anderson when Hudson suddenly jumped into the back seat and held a knife to his throat. It was not clear where Hudson got the knife.
Hamer told The Herald Bulletin that Hudson forced him to drive to a cemetery where he bound Hamer’s hands behind his back with a belt.
“When we got to the cemetery, we kept going farther and farther back, and that’s the first time I thought he was going to kill me,” Hamer told the newspaper.
Hamer said Hudson then drove the SUV to the Rangeline Nature Preserve in Madison County, where he tied the lawyer’s feet, left him and fled in the SUV. The attorney later escaped and flagged down a passing motorist who called for help, police said.
Detective Mitch Carroll said the attorney suffered scrapes, a cut on his leg and other minor injuries.
Hamer said Hudson threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend during the drive to the nature preserve.
Police said they consider Hudson armed and dangerous and asked anyone who might know his whereabouts to contact authorities.
Hudson had been held in Madison County Jail on an unrelated charge of domestic battery stemming from a disturbance June 10, according to court records. Police Sgt. Bill Casey said Hudson also had spent more than 20 years in a Florida prison for robbery.
The Herald Bulletin reported that Hamer arranged with Anderson City Court Judge Donald Phillippe for Hudson’s temporary release from jail when he could not pay his $500 bond in time for a Social Security disability hearing in Indianapolis.
Copyright 2008 Indianapolis Star Tribune