By JESSICA KERMAN

and BRANDI WATTERS



ANDERSON — Anderson police are still searching for a man who they say abducted his attorney at knifepoint while on their way to the Madison County Jail.

Anderson attorney Thomas Hamer was driving his client Richard Lee Hudson from a successful Social Security benefits hearing in Indianapolis on Monday, when, according to Hamer and police reports, Hudson jumped into the backseat of Hamer’s sport utility vehicle and held a knife to his throat.

Police were called to Rangeline Nature Preserve at 12:41 p.m., Detective Mitch Carroll said, after Hamer flagged down a telephone repair truck going southbound on Rangeline Road for help.

“When we were coming back from Indianapolis, we were right in front of KeyBank (across the street from the jail), and that’s when (Hudson) said ‘I’m not going back to jail,’ or ‘If you think I’m going back to jail you’re crazy’ or something like that,” Hamer said during an interview Monday night.

At that point, Hudson jumped from the passenger’s seat into the backseat behind Hamer, where he held a knife to Hamer’s throat, Hamer said. The attorney said then Hudson said he wanted to go to Maplewood Cemetery because his mother and father were buried there.

“When we got to the cemetery, we kept going farther and farther back, and that’s the first time I thought he was going to kill me,” Hamer said.

According to Hamer, Hudson then tied Hamer’s hands behind his back with a belt and put him in the car.

“He was driving, talking about how he was going to kill his ex-girlfriend,” Hamer said. “I tried talking him out of it, but he was saying he was going to kill her, then commit suicide. What I thought he was going to do was go to this girl’s house, stab her, take the pills — he said he already had the pills, and I thought he would leave me in the car.”

Hudson drove the SUV to Rangeline Nature Preserve, located at 1200 S. Rangeline Road, Hamer said, and the men started walking along one of the trails in the park.

“I said, ‘if you’re going to tie me up, just tie me up here,’” Hamer said. “We went a few steps further and instead of walking on the path, we started walking on the brush. He said if I didn’t do anything stupid, he wouldn’t hurt me.”

Hudson then tied Hamer’s ankles with his old shirt and ran from the scene, leaving in his attorney’s burgundy 2007 Ford Escape hybrid with Hamer’s wallet, cell phone and other personal items.

Hamer suffered minor injuries including a few scrapes to his arms and neck, as well as a cut on his leg. Carroll said the injuries could have occurred when Hamer was forced to walk through the remote, wooded area.

On Monday evening, it was not yet known where Hudson got the black-handled knife he used against Hamer, Carroll said. The two men did stop at the Wal-Mart on the southeast side of Anderson, where Hamer purchased clothing for Hudson to wear during the hearing.



DOMESTIC BATTERY

Hudson was in jail on Monday morning because he had been arrested and charged with domestic battery three weeks ago.

On June 10 at 9:50 p.m., Anderson police were dispatched to the corner of 21st and Jefferson streets after receiving reports of a possible fight in progress. Arriving on scene, officers found no indication of a fight and left the premises. They were called back to the area 10 minutes later to investigate reports of a man and woman screaming at one another.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Anderson police Detective Jake Brooks responded to the scene and reported hearing a woman “crying hysterically.”

He followed the screaming voices to an upstairs apartment in the 600 block of East 21st Street.

Brooks then reported finding Hudson and a woman inside the apartment.

Generally, The Herald Bulletin does not release victims’ names.

The woman, as reported by Brooks, had a swollen and bruised right eye and a cut on her arm.

When Brooks and assisting officers interviewed the woman, she claimed that the fight started over drugs. “They were fighting since they ran out of crack cocaine and Richard was mad at her for talking to friends about their relationship problems,” Brooks noted in the police report.

The report also indicated that the woman said Hudson would “kill her as soon as he gets out of jail.”

On June 23, the woman filed a protective order against Hudson, reporting additional abuse.

The woman wrote that Hudson had punched her in the arm, eye and knee that night. She claimed that he dragged her from the front porch into the house. She said he also attempted to throw her down the stairs and repeatedly struck her in the face.

Hudson had been in jail since the incident, unable to post bond.

Neighbors of Hudson said they’d heard some yelling and screaming coming from the house on at least two occasions but also knew him to be “laid back” and “nice.”

The neighbors would not disclose their names.

One neighbor indicated that the woman had returned to her residence only a couple of times since the incident. “She was scared he was going to get out and come after her. She’s been back there two or three times to get stuff. But she hasn’t spent another night since [the battery].”



STILL AT-LARGE

Because Hudson could not produce the $500 bond in time for his Social Security disability hearing, Hamer arranged for his temporary release.

On June 24, Anderson City Court Judge Donald Phillippe authorized the temporary release, stating that Hamer should return Hudson to the Madison County Jail immediately after the hearing.

The hearing was scheduled to determine Hudson’s disability benefits eligibility. The July 7 hearing ruled that he was eligible for benefits.

Hudson had previously spent 23 years in a Florida prison after being convicted of robbery with a gun and aggravated assault.

While in prison, Hudson racked up two more charges. He was convicted of assaulting a member of law enforcement and possession of marijuana in a state prison.

In 2004, Hudson was released and used an Anderson address as his stated residence upon release.

Hamer said a psychologist at the Social Security hearing said Hudson had post-traumatic stress disorder, which he probably got while he was in jail.

Police say they consider Hudson armed and dangerous. He is described as a white male who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds. When he escaped, he was wearing a long gray beard and had long gray hair. Anyone who has information on his whereabouts is asked to call Anderson police at (765) 648-6730 or Crime Stoppers at (765) 648-6778.

He was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans and is believed to be driving the Ford SUV with the Indiana license plate RK114. The vehicle has a Riley Hospital for Children license plate.

The U.S. Marshal is also assisting in the search, Supervisor Deputy U.S. Marshal John Beeman said in a message.

“It would be nice if they’d catch him,” Hamer said. “I’ll have a baseball bat in my bed waiting for him if he comes back.”

Police initially believed Hudson was headed to a relative’s residence in Indianapolis on Monday but have since ruled that out.

“We have no idea of where he’s headed. He may still be in the area,” Carroll said.

Hamer said he would not take any more clients into custody after this incident.

“He’s my last one,” he said. “I just want the guy caught and if he can get help, to get help.”



Reporter Shawn McGrath contributed to this report.