McClinton Guilty of Kidnapping

A jury returned a a guilty verdict Wednesday in the trial of James Ray McClinton, charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault.

McClinton, who uses the aliases of Thomas D. Taylor and John R. Corner, has been in Bradley County Sheriff’s Office custody since his arrest on April 15th for the abduction of a 44 year-old woman from 23rd Street in Chattanooga.

After the woman accepted a ride home on his motorcycle she said he put a knife to her throat and instead went to his home on Thompson Springs Road in Bradley County.

She was held against her will until the following day when she was able to escape while McClinton cooked breakfast. She ran to a nearby residence and called 9-1-1.

McClinton left before deputies arrived but he was arrested the following day at a motel in East Ridge after his description was publicized in the media.

McClinton also has charges of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and identity theft pending in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga

Sentencing in the kidnapping case is set for February 5th in Bradley County.