UA pitcher arrested, charged with kidnapping, battery

Thomas Altimont was arrested Friday.
Thomas Altimont was arrested Friday.

— Thomas Altimont, a pitcher for the University of Arkansas baseball team, was arrested Friday morning and charged with kidnapping and third degree domestic battery.

Altimont, 21, was booked in the Washington County Jail at 8:30 a.m. Friday and was released at 2:25 p.m. on a $10,000 bond. He has a hearing scheduled for Monday.

According to the arrest report, Fayetteville Police responded to a domestic disturbance at 1:25 a.m. Friday after being advised two people were locked in a bedroom, including a female being held against her will. According to the report, officers entered the apartment and forced their way into the locked bedroom, where they found Altimont leaning over a female who was crying.

Altimont did not comply with instructions to leave the bedroom, according to the report, and was escorted into the main room of the apartment.

Earlier in the night, according to the reporting officer, the female victim was picked up by a friend from her dorm room, and they later picked up Altimont from a bar on Dickson Street. The female got into a verbal dispute with Altimont in the car because he went through her phone, according to the report.

Once arriving at Altimont's residence, he forcibly removed the female from the car and carried her up the stairs while she was "kicking and screaming and attempting to get away." At the top of the stairs, the female escaped from Altimont before he captured her again and forced her into his apartment, according to the report.

Once inside, the victim escaped again, according to the report, but was pulled back inside. Altimont was confronted by his roommate, who expressed concern about what was going on, according to the report. Altimont began punching a closet door, putting a large hole in it, and choking himself, according to the report, before throwing the girl onto a bed, at one point biting her hair and pulling it from her scalp.

The victim complained of tenderness to her scalp area. The officer also observed the female had visible red marks on her arms and neck.

Altimont, who transferred to Arkansas from McLennan Community College last year, has appeared in six games this season for the Razorbacks as a relief pitcher. He is 1-0 with a 1.59 earned run average.

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said Altimont had been indefinitely suspended from the team, adding he would "review the matter thoroughly and make any further determinations next week."

"We have high standards for our student-athletes and they will conduct themselves appropriately," Van Horn said. "We stress accountability in the University of Arkansas baseball program and endangering the safety of others and other inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated."

The arrest came just hours before Arkansas' most anticipated series of the season. The No. 10 Razorbacks are scheduled to face No. 2 LSU beginning Friday night at Baum Stadium.

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