Probable cause: Carthage man held woman captive for a month, forced her to inject herself with methamphetamine

(UPDATE: The charges in this case were dismissed August 2, 2019.)

A Carthage man who allegedly held a woman captive in his apartment for a month and forced her to inject herself with methamphetamine will be arraigned Wednesday morning in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Mark Lawson, 38, is charged with kidnapping and possession of a controlled substance.

According to the probable cause statement, between March 5 and April 5, Mark A. Lawson, 38, forced the woman to stay in his apartment by padlocking it from the outside and using surveillance equipment to monitor her.

If the woman did not remain in front of the cameras at all times, according to the statement, Lawson physically abused her.









As bad as that was, things grew worse the evening of April 4, the probable cause statement indicates. On that evening, Lawson had his son staying the night in his apartment.

At 10:00 that night, (the woman) awoke to Lawson screaming as a "shake and bake" bottle exploded in his lap. "Shake and bake" is a method of manufacturing methamphetamine using plastic bottles with chemicals inside the bottle to produce the methamphetamine.

During the night into the early morning hours of 4-5-2019, Lawson forced (the woman) to remain in the apartment when she tried to leave. Lawson grabbed (her) by the hair, pulling a chunk of her hair out of her head. He slammed her head in the sink in the bathroom and forced her down as she tried to push off the sink with her hands.

Blisters were left on her right hand from pushing on the sink. Lawson then forced (her) to inject methamphetamine into her arm with a syringe.

Lawson slipped up the next morning when he took his son to school and left the padlock off the door, according to the probable cause statement.

The woman fled and reported Lawson to the Carthage Police Department.

When Lawson was taken into custody, police officers also found methamphetamine on him, the report said.

Lawson has a lengthy criminal history including the following, noted in the probable cause statement:

-Arrested for felonious restraint and robbery second degree on 11-25-1997. He was sentenced to seven years.








-Arrested for domestic assault on 11-12-2005. Sentenced to one year probation

-Arrested for felony possession of a controlled substance, endangering the welfare of a child second degree and distribute/delivering a controlled substance on 12-14-2011. He was sentenced to seven years, but put on probation for five years.

-Arrested for distributing/delivering a controlled substance, felony possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child first degre on 1-23-2013. He was sentenced to seven years and put on probation for five years.

All of the cases were in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Lawson is being held in the Jasper County Jail on $250,000 bond.