Atmore man pleads guilty to attempted kidnapping

Published 8:59 pm Friday, December 23, 2011

An Atmore man pleaded guilty Monday in a Baldwin County Circuit Court to a Dec. 28, 2010, incident during which he attempted to kidnap his estranged wife.

Troy Avery Barton, 47, of Atmore, admitted trying to forcibly subdue his wife, who was pregnant at the time with another man’s child. Barton also pleaded guilty to charges he used a sawed-off shotgun during the incident.

Barton

“Troy Barton, of Atmore, went to his mother-in-law’s house in Baldwin County with the intent to kidnap his estranged wife, Tammy Barton,” said Assistant District Attorney Megan Doggett. “He brought with him a short-barrel shotgun and a duffel bag filled with pillowcases, zip ties, duct tape and various medications, intending to tie up the mother-in-law and her husband and take his wife by force if she was unwilling to come with him.”

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According to the Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office, Barton’s wife was not at the home of her mother, Linda Allen. The wife’s new boyfriend, Leroy Taggert, was at the location at the time of the incident.

“(Barton and Taggert) struggled to gain control of the shotgun and it discharged,” Doggett said. “The mother called 911 and he was arrested there.”

According to a report from the district attorney’s office, Barton entered a blind plea, meaning there was no pre-determined agreement with prosecutors on a sentence to first-degree burglary, second-degree attempted kidnapping, possession of a short-barrel shotgun, unlawful imprisonment and reckless endangerment.

Baldwin County District Attorney Hallie Dixon praised Sgt. Daniel Steelman and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office for their work on the case and testimony that led to concurrent sentences of 20 years (split to serve five) on the burglary, 10 years (split to serve three) on the attempted kidnapping, and one year each on the other charges.