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A 26-year-old Pittsburgh man was arrested on kidnapping and assault charges after a disturbance at Hilton Head’s Tiki Hut bar last week. Under South Carolina law, a kidnapping charge is broad — and the details of what happened at the popular Hilton Head bar remain limited.
Read more What’s in a name? Supporters call her Graham. Detractors add Nordone
FULL STORY: What we know about the kidnapping arrest at Tiki Hut on Hilton Head
Here are key takeaways — and how South Carolina defines kidnapping:
- Jeremy Charles Jenkins, 26, was booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center early Friday after five officers responded to a disturbance at the Tiki Hut around 10:35 p.m. Thursday. He faces assault and battery in the third degree, a misdemeanor, and kidnapping, a felony.
- Lexington-based criminal defense attorney James Snell said South Carolina’s kidnapping statute is “significantly broader than what the general public would understand as kidnapping.” The law can, in theory, apply to any situation where someone is deprived of their ability to move by force or threat of force.
- The statute requires no minimum distance of movement or length of confinement. Snell said he has seen kidnapping charges in misdemeanor domestic violence cases where, for example, someone blocked a door with their foot.
- A kidnapping conviction in South Carolina may by default require registration as a sex offender unless the court explicitly finds the offense had no sexual nature, Snell said. The charge carries up to 30 years in prison.
- Individual officers decide what to charge, but the solicitor’s office can decline to pursue the kidnapping charge, Snell said. No hearing has been scheduled yet for Jenkins’ kidnapping charge; his assault hearing is set for Sept. 10.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
Read more What’s in a name? Supporters call her Graham. Detractors add Nordone