Man accused of burning woman faces kidnapping charge

(Stock image)
(Stock image)

TEXARKANA, Texas -- A Texarkana man accused of burning a woman while holding her against her will has been arrested for aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon.

De'Farious Eric Phillips, 23, was taken into custody by Texarkana, Texas, police last week after a woman reported she'd been taken by him at gunpoint and burned while being kept for hours, according to a probable cause affidavit. The woman told investigators she and Phillips met on social media and had been dating for about a month when she asked him to give her a ride from Hooks, Texas, to her home in Texarkana.

The woman reported that when Phillips arrived at about 1 p.m. May 2 to pick her up in Hooks, he became upset because he thought she "was talking to another person." Phillips allegedly broke the woman's phone and took it with him, leaving her in Hooks.

The woman found a different way home and reported that she decided to walk to Walmart on New Boston Road in Texarkana, Texas, to buy a new phone later that evening. Phillips allegedly approached the woman in the store's parking lot as she was leaving, allegedly forcing her into his pickup at gunpoint.

"(The woman) stated that Phillips broke the phone that she just purchased from Walmart and threatened to kill her if she attempted to call for help or if anyone showed up to help her," the affidavit states.

Phillips allegedly drove the woman to his residence in the 2200 block of West 14th Street, where he kept her inside the truck for approximately two hours. Phillips allegedly burned the woman with a hot cigarette lighter and forced her to log in to Facebook on his phone "to ask people for money."

Phillips allegedly took $21 from the woman before taking her back to her home.

"Phillips inflicted bodily injury on (the woman's) left arm and left upper leg, terrorized her, and abducted her by exhibiting a deadly weapon," the affidavit states.

Phillips faces five to 99 years or life in prison if convicted of aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon. He is currently being held in the Bowie County jail with bail set at $100,000.

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