BENTON, Ill. (WJPF) – A Granite City man is behind bars, accused of holding a woman against her will in Franklin County and leading police on a chase that reached speeds near 100 miles per hour.
Around 5:00 p.m. Saturday, a Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy tried to pull over a motorcycle on State Highway 37, near Mallard Lane north of Benton, driven by Charles King, 40. Instead of stopping, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office says King sped away, losing the deputy. A wrecked motorcycle was found a few minutes later on Benton Camp Road, but King was gone.
Roughly 24 hours later, police received a call from a woman living on Benton Camp Road. She said she was being held against her will by Charles King, who had lived at the woman’s home in the past. When police arrived at the home, King had fled the scene again and hidden in a patch of woods nearby. Authorities brought in a drone that used heat-sensing infrared technology to locate King.
Charles King is now facing charges including aggravated assault, aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer, and driving with a suspended license.
