Four charged in Chattanooga kidnapping

Friday, January 1, 1904

A group of at least four kidnappers seeking drugs or their value in cash stripped a man of his clothes, cut his face and neck, blindfolded him and bound his hands and feet, according to a Chattanooga police report.

Shane Keller, 25, told officers he was going to a house at 3300 E. 36th St. to sell $150 worth of methamphetamine. His mother, who declined to give her name, said her son told her he was going to visit friends.

"He had, like, burn marks and scratches from where they had knives on him. All I know is what he told me. They tried to kill him. He called my stepdaughter and said that they asked for money," the woman said at her East Lake home Tuesday afternoon. She said Keller had minor injuries.

Keller, who could not be reached for comment, told police he was attacked by two men, one of whom has been identified as 25-year-old Eric Clifton Slaughter. Keller said 48-year-old Ginger Davis and 53-year-old Barbara D. Slaughter ordered the two men to beat and bind him. The incident took place at Davis' residence, according to the police report.

Keller's jewelry - valued at $340 - was stolen and his face marked with a knife. A knife blade was heated, and his neck was scorched, police said. He told police the captors tried to cut his fingers off with scissors.

Police said Dosher Felts, 22, watched Keller. He reportedly came at Keller with the knife when he thought Keller was making a move, according to the report.

The report states Keller's injuries were consistent with the story he told.

Keller's stepsister, Summer Neighbors, was phoned and asked to bring $300 for Keller's safe return. She called police, and officers went to the residence. Keller was found nearby, according to the report. A fifth person was stopped in a vehicle leaving the residence but later released.

The rest of the people were arrested on various criminal charges.

All four were charged with especially aggravated kidnapping, extortion and criminal conspiracy, according to police.

Felts and Eric Slaughter face additional charges of aggravated assault. Eric Slaughter and Barbara Slaughter also are charged with aggravated robbery.

Eric Slaughter has a bond set at $370,000. Barbara Slaughter and Felts have bonds set at $295,000 each, and Davis has a bond set at $245,000, records show.

All four are scheduled to appear Monday before Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge David Bales.