Norfolk Man Sentenced for Kidnapping his Child’s Mother at Gunpoint

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man was sentenced today to 144 months in prison for the violent kidnapping of his child’s mother.

According to court documents, on May 19, 2022, James Maloyd Hunter, II, 32, kidnapped the mother of his child outside of her residence. Hunter was upset because the victim allowed her new boyfriend to be around the child. At approximately 5:35 in the morning, Hunter, with two co-conspirators, went to the victim’s residence in Norfolk. As the victim was leaving for work, Hunter confronted her, placed a firearm against her head, and forced her into his vehicle. Once inside the vehicle, he strangled the victim to stop her from screaming. She was in pain and unable to breathe. Hunter and his co-conspirators fled the scene to a hotel on Military Highway. Before departing the hotel, he zip-tied the victim’s hands together and forced her onto the floor of the back seat so no one could see her as they left the area.

On May 20, 2022, Hunter was located in Hocking County, Ohio. Local police stopped his vehicle and freed the victim. Upon examining her, they found noticeable signs of injury, including marks around her neck consistent with strangulation. Detectives recovered from Hunter’s vehicle a package of zip ties, a roll of duct tape, a hunting style knife, a pair of scissors, and a receipt from Superior Pawn in Norfolk for the purchase one week before of a 9mm Ruger, semiautomatic handgun. A search of Hunter’s phone revealed that he conducted multiple web searches for topics such as “tranquilizer darts for humans,” “directions to Colorado,” “do you need a passport to cross into Canada,” “sleeping sedative,” “how to put oil filter silencer on handgun,” and “homemade suppressor for handheld pistol.”

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Ramin Fatehi, Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Mark Talbot, Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia expresses its appreciation to the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office for their significant assistance in this case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Stolle prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-3.