A Steuben County woman accused of kidnapping a young mother and her baby at knifepoint after escaping from police custody in Pennsylvania could spend the rest of her life in prison.
Federal authorities on Wednesday filed kidnapping charges against Billie Jo Ribble, 35, whose last known address was in Bath. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, with a maximum term of life in prison.
The series of events began Friday afternoon when Ribble was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police and Steuben County Sheriff ’s investigators at Wal-Mart outside of Mansfield, Pa. Deputies said Ribble had been on the run since October, when she allegedly broke into a Howard residence and stole $12,000 worth of property, including 15 guns.
After her arrest Friday, Ribble, who is pregnant, complained of stomach pain and was taken to a Wellsboro, Pa., hospital for treatment. While there, Ribble attacked the corrections officer guarding her and escaped the hospital by climbing out of a third-story window, police said. She jumped onto a second-story roof and used a catwalk to make it to the ground, authorities said.
After the alleged escape, Ribble entered the basement of a Wellsboro residence and armed herself with a large butcher knife, authorities said. A 19-year-old woman and her 6-month-old daughter were sleeping in the basement, and the mother woke up to find Ribble standing over her daughter’s crib with the knife, authorities said.
Ribble is accused of picking up the child and threatening to kill the baby, the mother and herself if the 19-year-old did not take Ribble to New York.
The woman agreed to drive Ribble to New York. During the trip, Ribble sat in the front passenger seat and held the baby and the knife, authorities said.
While en route to New York, Ribble used the victim’s cell phone to arrange to be picked up along U.S. Highway 15 in Lindley, police said. After arriving at the drop-off point, Ribble took the battery out of the woman’s cell phone so she wouldn’t be able to contact police, authorities said.
After crossing the border into Pennsylvania, the 19-year-old woman stopped at a gas station and called police, who tracked Ribble to her boyfriend’s home on Decatur Street in Corning, authorities said.
When police found Ribble, she barricaded herself in the attic and threatened to harm herself and her unborn child if police did not leave, authorities said.
A sheriff’s investigator and a supervisor with the Corning Police Department spoke with Ribble for approximately 45 minutes and convinced her to surrender, authorities said.
The state police in New York and Pennsylvania, the FBI and the Wellsboro Police Department assisted in the apprehension of Ribble.
The Leader was unable to reach Ribble’s court-appointed attorney, William Kelley, for comment, but he told The Associated Press he did not have enough information to make a statement.
Ribble still faces state charges related to the October burglary in Howard. It wasn’t clear Wednesday what other state-level charges she is facing in New York and Pennsylvania.
Ribble, a former standout basketball player in the 1990s at Campbell-Savona and Alfred State, has had numerous run-ins with the law.
In 2003, she began serving prison time for a robbery and an attempted assault, according to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. She went back to prison on a parole violation in 2009. Her latest release was in January 2012.
A Steuben County woman accused of kidnapping a young mother and her baby at knifepoint after escaping from police custody in Pennsylvania could spend the rest of her life in prison.
Federal authorities on Wednesday filed kidnapping charges against Billie Jo Ribble, 35, whose last known address was in Bath. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, with a maximum term of life in prison.
The series of events began Friday afternoon when Ribble was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police and Steuben County Sheriff ’s investigators at Wal-Mart outside of Mansfield, Pa. Deputies said Ribble had been on the run since October, when she allegedly broke into a Howard residence and stole $12,000 worth of property, including 15 guns.
After her arrest Friday, Ribble, who is pregnant, complained of stomach pain and was taken to a Wellsboro, Pa., hospital for treatment. While there, Ribble attacked the corrections officer guarding her and escaped the hospital by climbing out of a third-story window, police said. She jumped onto a second-story roof and used a catwalk to make it to the ground, authorities said.
After the alleged escape, Ribble entered the basement of a Wellsboro residence and armed herself with a large butcher knife, authorities said. A 19-year-old woman and her 6-month-old daughter were sleeping in the basement, and the mother woke up to find Ribble standing over her daughter’s crib with the knife, authorities said.
Ribble is accused of picking up the child and threatening to kill the baby, the mother and herself if the 19-year-old did not take Ribble to New York.
The woman agreed to drive Ribble to New York. During the trip, Ribble sat in the front passenger seat and held the baby and the knife, authorities said.
While en route to New York, Ribble used the victim’s cell phone to arrange to be picked up along U.S. Highway 15 in Lindley, police said. After arriving at the drop-off point, Ribble took the battery out of the woman’s cell phone so she wouldn’t be able to contact police, authorities said.
After crossing the border into Pennsylvania, the 19-year-old woman stopped at a gas station and called police, who tracked Ribble to her boyfriend’s home on Decatur Street in Corning, authorities said.
When police found Ribble, she barricaded herself in the attic and threatened to harm herself and her unborn child if police did not leave, authorities said.
A sheriff’s investigator and a supervisor with the Corning Police Department spoke with Ribble for approximately 45 minutes and convinced her to surrender, authorities said.
The state police in New York and Pennsylvania, the FBI and the Wellsboro Police Department assisted in the apprehension of Ribble.
The Leader was unable to reach Ribble’s court-appointed attorney, William Kelley, for comment, but he told The Associated Press he did not have enough information to make a statement.
Ribble still faces state charges related to the October burglary in Howard. It wasn’t clear Wednesday what other state-level charges she is facing in New York and Pennsylvania.
Ribble, a former standout basketball player in the 1990s at Campbell-Savona and Alfred State, has had numerous run-ins with the law.
In 2003, she began serving prison time for a robbery and an attempted assault, according to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. She went back to prison on a parole violation in 2009. Her latest release was in January 2012.
