Police investigate kidnapping of Blountville man by bondsmen; charges pending against Bristol trio
By Rain Smith



Detectives are investigating the kidnapping of a Blountville resident by three bondsmen — even after police previously told them they had the wrong man.

"These guys were just out to get paid," said Ryan Wayne Shealy, 30, who the bondsmen wrongfully apprehended. "I think they just wanted to bring someone in."

"They used one particular phrase a lot: Balls to the wall. When they said that they meant they were so confident I was the man they were willing to go to jail if it wasn't; they were going balls to the wall."

Sullivan County Sheriff's Office Det. Kevin Morrell said he is working with the district attorney's office on the case, and charges against the three bondsmen, all from Bristol, Tenn., are pending.

They have been identified as Marvin Lee Keeling, 42, of 167 Honaker Drive, Anthony Walter Story Jr., 42, of 226 Basham Hill Road, and Clyde Allen Collins Jr., 23, of 511 Queen St.

According to police reports, Shealy's harassment began at 4 a.m. Sunday morning. Three men, who identified themselves as working for Bad Boyz Bonding Co., showed up at the door of his Hawk Street home.

Shealy told police the men produced a search warrant, saying they were searching for Ben Blevins. Shealy said Blevins, who is wanted in Hawkins County for identity theft, lived at the residence before he bought it a year ago.

Both Blevins and the Sheriff's Office report the bondsmen were showed multiple forms of ID, including a birth certificate. The bondsmen then contacted the Sheriff's Office and returned to Shealy's home with deputies.

"Officers advised the bonding company that Ryan was not Ben Blevins and all parties left," reads the police report.

"That was unnerving, but I had a feeling they were going to come back," Shealy told the Times-News.

Shealy claims that later Sunday morning he saw one of the bondsmen outside his home, writing down his car's license plate number. Then, at about 1 a.m. Monday, the same three men were back at his door, demanding to search his home, yet again.

"I said, 'You've already been in my house, you've already invaded my privacy,'" recalled Shealy. "'It's done, I've had enough, and don't want you guys coming in.'"

But according to Shealy and police records, the bondsmen weren't deterred. They cuffed Shealy and refused to let him call 911.

"They said, 'You can come peacefully or you can go in cuffed — either way you're going to Hawkins County,'" said Shealy.

After once again rummaging through his home, according to Shealy, the bondsmen loaded him up and embarked on a two hour drive from Blountville to Rogersville. Shealy said he tried to pass the time with casual conversation, but to no avail.

"They took back roads," Shealy said. "(A bondsman) had some sort of GPS on his phone and was all over the place. And he wasn't driving that safely, either."

"These guys weren't that bright. In the conversation up there they would call each other different names other than their real names. I don't know why they did that."

Once at the Hawkins County Jail, according to the police report and Shealy, the bondsmen were told what Sullivan County deputies had relayed the previous day: "Ryan is not Ben Blevins."

Det. Morrell said the bondsmen then left Shealy in Hawkins County, refusing to transport him home.

"I tried to cooperate to fullest extent," Shealy said. "They were just so hungry to take me in."

As authorities pursue kidnapping charges against the men, Shealy is left to cope with lingering side effects of the ordeal.

"It does have psychological effects on you," he said. "It's my home, my sanctuary, and bad guys came in the middle of the night and took me away. It's messed up."

I think if the Police tell you to drop it, drop it!