Tri-Cities suspect who’s killed before accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend
A 53-year-old Tri-Cities man who served time in prison for manslaughter was caught Friday in California after a nearly weeklong manhunt after he allegedly kidnapped his Kennewick girlfriend.
Jack Thomas Waldrop III was wanted on charges of kidnapping, second-degree assault and a felony protection order violation, according to court records.
A $500,000 nationwide warrant was issued for his arrest after he drove off with her in his pickup truck.
He got out of prison in 2018 after serving 20 years for strangling and killing a former girlfriend in Oregon during a fight.
Kennewick police said Waldrop and his 63-year-old Tri-Cities girlfriend also had a strained relationship before the March 11 alleged abduction.
Even though she had a court order to prevent him from contacting her, she agreed he could give her a ride to run some errands last Friday, said Kennewick Officer Roman Trujillo.
But when she overheard one of his phone conversations, she wanted him to let her out of the truck. After she got out, he convinced her to get back in the pickup, believing he was going to take her home.
Inside the truck, they soon started arguing, and then Waldrop allegedly began hitting her, and he told her that she was going to die, Trujillo said.
When she tried to get out, he stopped her by speeding up, said Trujillo.
When he stopped in Ellensburg for gas, she escaped and got help from a passerby. But by the time Ellensburg police arrived, Waldrop had driven away, Kennewick police said.
The woman was given medical treatment, and Kennewick police were called.
Local and federal law enforcement starting hunting for Waldrop driving a white Ford F-150 pickup with the Washington license plate C34986R.
Waldrop often slept in his truck and had ties to Boise, Idaho, and Salem, Ore., as well as other places in Washington and California.
Police said he lived in a RV in Tri-Cities and would occasionally park at his girlfriend’s Kennewick home.
According to Oregon court records, Waldrop has a previous conviction for first-degree manslaughter in the death of Angela Walker, a girlfriend in Salem, Ore.
At the time, one of Walker’s friends told the Statesman Journal in Salem that the couple had a tumultuous relationship.
In March 1998, he was convicted of assaulting Walker during a fight, but they continued to see each other. Neighbors said they could hear the clashes outside of the apartment they sometimes shared.
During one of those fights, he beat and strangled Walker, said news accounts at the time.
He was sentenced to 21 years for manslaughter. He was released from Oregon Department of Corrections in October 2018.
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 3:08 PM.