BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – A convicted felon pled guilty this week to kidnapping a woman in Alabama, over a year after the incident occurred.

Jeffrey Barton, 51, of Guinn, Alabama, pled guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Madeline H. Haikala to felon in possession of a firearm charge and kidnapping in the abduction of a woman last summer. 

According to the plea agreement, in June 2022, the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a man reporting that his wife had been forced into a vehicle at gunpoint by a man at his residence. This man was later identified as Barton. 

A deputy saw Barton’s vehicle leave the driveway of the victim’s residence. When the victim spotted the patrol car, she jumped out of the driver’s door and ran towards the deputy. Barton exited the vehicle with his hands above his head.

Officers searched the vehicle and found a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol next to the driver’s door.

U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson announced Barton’s guilty plea on Friday. 

Barton now faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and a maximum penalty of life in prison for kidnapping.