Spokane man held in Salt Lake on kidnapping charge

A man accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend in Spokane was arrested Sunday in Salt Lake City, police officials there confirmed.

Joseph Lee Jennings, 37, is accused of abducting the 35-year-old woman on Friday when she came to his home at 1418 S. Adams with her sister. He allegedly held a large kitchen knife to the neck of the sister, forced his former girlfriend into her sister’s 1996 Chevrolet Blazer and drove off.

About 1 p.m. Sunday, the woman was able to get away and contact her family while at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Salt Lake City, said Sgt. Steve Wooldridge of the Salt Lake City Police Department.

Her family then contacted Salt Lake City Police, Wooldridge said.

Officers went to the store on the west side of Salt Lake, but the woman and Jennings were gone, Wooldridge said. Officers searched the area for the Blazer and found it at a nearby motel, he said.

Officers entered one of the motel rooms and took the suspect into custody, Wooldridge said. The woman was not injured, police said.

“Based on the information we were given from the Spokane Police Department, we knew he may be armed,” Wooldridge said.

Jennings was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail and was being held on a domestic-violence-related kidnapping charge and for alleged possession of a stolen vehicle, Wooldridge said.

In Spokane County, Jennings will be charged with four felonies – two counts of first-degree kidnapping, one count of malicious mischief in the first degree and one count of auto theft, said Dick Cottam, Spokane Police spokesman.

It is not known when Jennings will be extradited to Washington.