A dispute between a Marshalltown man and his ex-girlfriend apparently led to an incident this week that’s resulted in charges of kidnapping. Marshalltown police chief Lon Walker says 19-year old Robert Anthony Ratliff had gone to the woman’s apartment over the weekend. The former boyfriend broke in, he says, and stole the woman’s dog and on December 26 he was arrested and charged with third-degree burglary. The man was apparently angered by his arrest and the chief says he returned to the apartment when she was there. Walker says the man abducted her at knifepoint, held her against her will for about 12 hours, repeatedly threatened to kill her and sharpened his knives, showing her how sharp they were. The chief says the 19-year-old woman suffered minor injuries during the time she was held. She was able to get away late Monday afternoon and went to police. The chief says it took several hours for the woman to tell her story and cops to sort it all out. Ratliff was arrested on Tuesday and charged with first-degree kidnapping. After a court appearance this (Wednesday) morning, his bond is set at half-a-million dollars.
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