CORBIN, Ky. (LEX 18) — A London man is in custody at the Knox County Detention Center on multiple violent charges, including kidnapping and assault. According to the Knox County Sheriff's Department, 38-year-old Shawn Asher was arrested on Thursday after officials received report that he allegedly kidnapped a woman at the 8000 block of Kentucky Highway 1232 in Corbin.
According to a press release, Asher allegedly broke into the victim's home and was waiting for her to return. When the victim returned, an argument broke out between the two parties. Asher then allegedly forced the victim into the passenger seat of her Jeep Grand Cherokee, and forced her to leave her cell phone at the residence.
Around 6 p.m. Thursday, the Knox County Sheriff's Department, the Barbourville Police Department, and the U.S. Marshal's Service Central Kentucky Fugitive Task Force received a tip that Asher was traveling southbound on Kentucky Highway 11 in Barbourville with the victim in the vehicle. Authorities were able to locate the Jeep Grand Cherokee and conducted a traffic stop. Asher was taken into custody without incident and the victim was found with minor physical injuries, according to officials.
According to the Knox County Sheriff's Office, Asher allegedly drugged the same victim on Christmas Day of last year. LEX 18 previously reported that on Dec. 25, the victim was drinking a cup of coffee in her residence while watching her child open Christmas presents, when Asher allegedly claimed he spiked her mug with methamphetamine and planted needles in her vehicle.
The following day on Dec. 26, the victim had blood work done at a hospital where it was revealed that she tested positive for methamphetamine. In February, Asher was lodged at the Knox County Detention Center and he was charged with second-degree assault for the alleged crime. According to the Knox County Sheriff's Department, Asher was released on bond shortly after his arrest.
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For the alleged kidnapping this week, Asher has been charged with burglary in the second degree, assault in the fourth degree (domestic violence, minor injury), kidnapping of an adult, unlawful imprisonment in the second degree, violation of an emergency protective order/ domestic violence order, and strangulation in the second degree.
He is currently being held on a $100,000 bond, and the investigation into his alleged crimes remains ongoing.
