A Jonesboro man received a $1 million bond Friday after leading police on a high-speed chase in late June, when he kidnapped a 6-month-child and hung the boy out the window during the pursuit, authorities said.
The Jonesboro Police Department released on Friday video and information in the arrest of Bennie Irving Hancock, 37, who was charged with kidnapping after a June 30 chase.
Police said that on the day of the chase the child's mother told officers that her boyfriend had taken her son around from their residence around 4:15 p.m. and was traveling in her vehicle.
Hancock "recklessly fled" from police while the child was in his lap, according to a Facebook post from Jonesboro police.
In phone calls between Hancock and the child's mother, the man threatened to kill himself, the 6-month-old child, and anyone else while he was fleeing, authorities said. The man reportedly refused to hand the child over to authorities and fled Craighead County.
Jonesboro police said the chase continued through Poinsett County to Cross County. A Poinsett County deputy witnessed Hancock hanging the child out of the window during the pursuit.
A pickup, driven by a civilian, struck the SUV at one point, but Hancock continued to flee, according to the post.
The SUV was eventually stopped by Arkansas State Police who performed a “pit maneuver” on the vehicle, which then crashed, according to the Jonesboro Police Department. The post said the child was flown to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis for observation and has since been released.
Hancock's next court appearance will be August 28, at the Craighead County Courthouse.