Eric Tubwell describes what happened to him during a reported kidnapping, showing cuts on his legs and shoulders he said happened as he escaped from the trunk of the kidnapper’s vehicle.(Melanie Duncan Thortis The Vicksburg Post)

[06/25/03] A Vicksburg man told police he was pistol-whipped, forced into a car trunk and driven to where he thought he was going to be killed early Tuesday.

Another Vicksburg man, captured after a fight that left a city police officer injured, was in the Warren County Jail this morning, charged with kidnapping, assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Eric Tubwell, 28, 1602 South St., told police he believed he was kidnapped because he was accused of stealing Rogers’ pit bull dogs. Tubwell said he didn’t know what happened to the Rogers’ dogs; Tubwell said he has three pit bulls of his own.

About 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, Tubwell reported the incident to police and identified one of the men who attacked and kidnapped him as Lash Rogers, 24, 1905 South St.

When police went to Rogers’ house to investigate, a small amount of marijuana was seen on a countertop and officers attempted to make an arrest, Vicksburg Police Department spokesman DaVon Grey said.

However, Rogers resisted and Lt. Billy Brown was injured, Grey said. Brown was treated and released from River Region Medical Center.

Police arrested Rogers at 10:26 a.m., and he was in the Warren County Jail today with a $30,000 bond.

Tubwell said he thought Rogers was angry with him after Rogers accused him of stealing his dogs.

Tubwell said he was visiting a cousin down the street from his apartment when Rogers and another man forced him into their car at gunpoint in the 1600 block of South Street just after midnight Tuesday morning.

“He said I can shoot you right here or you can get into the car,'” Tubwell said.

When the car stopped along Green Hill Road, Tubwell said he ran out of the car, but the men caught him and beat him on the shoulder and head with a handgun. He was cut on his legs, and his knees were also injured, Tubwell said. The men put Tubwell in the trunk of the car after they hit him. Tubwell said he could tell the car was going outside of the city limits when he heard fewer cars around him.

“They were taking me out there to kill me,” he said.

While in the trunk, Tubwell fiddled with the latch until it opened, but he held it down until the car came to a stop, when he ran into a wooded area. He said he stayed hidden in the same spot for about 2 1/2 hours before he walked about 10 miles after he figured out he was in Edwards.

Tubwell said he found a friend in Edwards who took him to his grandmother’s house in Vicksburg at about 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Rogers’ car was impounded by the Vicksburg Police Department to be searched, and officers continue to search for the second man Tubwell said was involved, Grey said in a statement.