Dunbar , Kanawha County , West Virginia

A Dunbar man has been arrested in connection with the alleged kidnapping and robbery of a paralyzed man in a wheelchair last week.

Cody Taylor, 22, is charged with kidnapping, assault and armed robbery in connection with the Nov. 8 robbery of Ralph Gillenwater, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.

Police said Gillenwater, who is paralyzed from the waist down, was at the Go-Mart along 16th Street in Dunbar when he was approached by Taylor. The complaint said Taylor offered to push Gillenwater home, saying that it was on his way home, but that trip home took a violent turn.

Police said Taylor took Gillenwater to his grandmother's home on 17th Street, where he carried the man inside, threw him in a chair and told him to empty his pockets and his fanny pack. Gillenwater told police that while he was doing as he was told, Taylor then punched him repeatedly in the face. Gillenwater handed over a prescription bottle of Xanax with about 80 pills and about $60 in cash.

Gillenwater told police that Taylor's grandmother came in the room and told her grandson to stop or she would call the police. Police said Taylor reportedly told her to shut up and that "I work for the Bloods and this is how we make our money."

The victim told police that Taylor put a hunting knife to his throat, threatening to kill him and his family if he told anyone what happened, then put him back in his wheelchair and began wheeling him home.

Gillenwater was taken to Thomas Memorial Hospital for treatment of a partially fractured jaw.

Taylor told police that Gillenwater tried to sell him the Xanax and that he started swinging at him first. When police asked Taylor how Gillenwater got inside the home without a wheelchair ramp, the complaint said, he allegedly told officers, "Well, it was some homo s---; I carried him inside."

Taylor remains in the South Central Regional Jail.

How To Contact WCHS-TV8 | Privacy Policy | FCC Public File | Terms and Conditions | DMCA Policy | Frequently Asked Questions

Home | Eyewitness News Newsroom | Storm Team Weather | Eyewitness Sports | Schedules

---

Send email to news@wchstv.com for information or comments concerning WCHS-TV Eyewitness News.

Copyright ©2013, WCHS-TV8. Portions are
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or distributed.