CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Poca man was in jail Thursday on charges he kidnapped and beat his wife.

According to documents on file in Kanawha Magistrate Court, Hope Skeens, of Poca, went to the Nitro Police Department on April 29 to complain that her husband, 24-year-old Joseph Daniel Skeens Jr., of Poca, had beat her up and kidnapped her the previous night in Nitro.

According to the criminal complaint, Hope Skeens told officers she had been driving around looking for her husband in the Layne Avenue area of Nitro around 10 p.m. April 28 when Joseph Skeens came up to the drivers side window and started to hit her in the face through the open window. Joseph Skeens then jumped into the car and sped west on W.Va. 25, the complaint said.

Joseph Skeens continued to hit his wife in the face and to burn her arms with a lit cigarette, the complaint said. She tried to run away when Joseph Skeens stopped at a convenience store, but her husband grabbed her by the hair, took her back to the car and continued beating her.

In all, the criminal complaint said, Joseph Skeens held his wife against her will for about seven hours, prompting a felony charge of kidnapping.

Joseph Skeens was arrested and arraigned in Kanawha Magistrate Court on Wednesday and was charged with kidnapping and domestic battery. He is also facing several previous charges of reckless driving and driving on a suspended license.

Skeens was being held in the South Central Regional Jail on Thursday without bond for the kidnapping charge and on $50,000 bond for the other charges.

Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1215.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Poca man was in jail Thursday on charges he kidnapped and beat his wife.

According to documents on file in Kanawha Magistrate Court, Hope Skeens, of Poca, went to the Nitro Police Department on April 29 to complain that her husband, 24-year-old Joseph Daniel Skeens Jr., of Poca, had beat her up and kidnapped her the previous night in Nitro.

According to the criminal complaint, Hope Skeens told officers she had been driving around looking for her husband in the Layne Avenue area of Nitro around 10 p.m. April 28 when Joseph Skeens came up to the drivers side window and started to hit her in the face through the open window. Joseph Skeens then jumped into the car and sped west on W.Va. 25, the complaint said.

Joseph Skeens continued to hit his wife in the face and to burn her arms with a lit cigarette, the complaint said. She tried to run away when Joseph Skeens stopped at a convenience store, but her husband grabbed her by the hair, took her back to the car and continued beating her.

In all, the criminal complaint said, Joseph Skeens held his wife against her will for about seven hours, prompting a felony charge of kidnapping.

Joseph Skeens was arrested and arraigned in Kanawha Magistrate Court on Wednesday and was charged with kidnapping and domestic battery. He is also facing several previous charges of reckless driving and driving on a suspended license.

Skeens was being held in the South Central Regional Jail on Thursday without bond for the kidnapping charge and on $50,000 bond for the other charges.

Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1215.