Blackfoot man faces multiple charges after allegedly holding woman against her will, then taking her car

BLACKFOOT — A 37-year-old Blackfoot man is facing multiple charges after allegedly holding a woman against her will in her own home and taking her vehicle.

On Nov. 13, an officer was told that a vehicle had been stolen from a home, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed by the Blackfoot Police Department.

The victim told the officer that she had gotten home from work around 3 in the morning on the 13th. She noticed her apartment door had been kicked in.

She went inside and saw a man, identified as Skyler Braden Smith. She has a protection order against him. Smith grabbed her and took her phone so she couldn’t call for help and blocked a door with a coffee table so she couldn’t leave, documents said.

She told the officer that Smith spent the rest of the night crawling around on the floor so nobody could see him through the windows. She said Smith told her he knew the cops were after him. The victim said she did not yell for help because she was afraid of him and did not want him to hurt her if she tried to get away.

The victim said she fell asleep and woke up to neighbors yelling her name and coming into the apartment. They told her that they had seen Smith drive off in her car. She confirmed that he had left with her car keys and that her car was gone, documents said.

The officer spoke to a neighbor and found surveillance video of Smith getting into the victim’s car. The video showed Smith getting help from an unidentified person in a white truck to start the vehicle.

The victim told the officer that Smith has no regard for the protection order. He had come to her home and made food for himself. She also said that any time he showed up, the first thing he did was take her phone so she couldn’t call for help.

He had also kicked in the door so many times that the landlord would no longer fix it, court documents said.

“I observed that the door has significant damage and needs to have the frame replaced from all the damage it has sustained,” the officer wrote.

The victim then received a text from Smith on Nov. 14 telling her where he had parked her car and that the keys were in it.

Smith was charged with felony second-degree kidnapping and three misdemeanors, including violation of a protection order, operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent and intentional destruction of a telecommunication instrument.

Though Smith has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

A no-contact order was issued between Smith and the victim. The felony charge is punishable by one to 25 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Smith is set for a preliminary hearing Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at the Bingham County Courthouse.