Woman Runs Into Muncie Muffler Shop After Escaping Capture
MUNCIE, Ind. — A man with a history of abuse is back behind bars after a woman he’d allegedly kept captive managed to escape confinement and run to a muffler shop for help.
Rodney “Outlaw” Adams, 59, of Muncie was taken into custody on Thursday after police found him hiding in an attic inside a home on S. Hackley Avenue. Adams didn’t come quietly, however, holding a knife to his throat for more than half an hour before police finally used pepper balls to disarm him.
According to court documents, the hunt for Adams began on July 22 after a bruised and battered woman came running into Tom Cherry Muffler on W. 8th Street asking for help. The woman said she’d been beaten and held captive by Adams for the past several days.
Police noted bruises and marks on the woman: a black eye, an injured knee and a swollen finger from where Adams reportedly twisted her finger until it broke or dislocated. The woman warned police that Adams was usually armed with a knife and had used the knives to threaten her and keep her from escaping.
Police went to a home on W. 8th Street searching for Adams, but no one was home. Police noted a health department warning that said the home was unfit for human habitation.
A warrant was issued for Adams arrest and police eventually went looking for him at a home on S. Hackey Street on Thursday. Several people were at the home but wouldn’t tell police if Adams was inside.
Police searched the home and found Adams hiding in an attic under a pile of trash. After he was uncovered, Adams pulled a knife from a sheath on his hip and held it to his throat, refusing to turn himself over to police.
Police tried to negotiate with Adams, but eventually turned to shooting him with pepper balls to disarm him. At the hospital, Adams is accused of attempting to kick a nurse in the face, screaming at her to keep her hands off him.
Police said Adams also “played possum,” acting like he was asleep and refusing to respond or comply with orders.
Court records show that Rodney Adams is a convicted abuser. In 2023, he pleaded guilty to strangulation and battery resulting in modest injury. He served 141 days in jail before he was given credit and time served.
Adams has also faced drug charges and other charges of battery over the years.
At this time, Adams has not been officially charged for this latest incident. The Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office will decide final charges.
Adams is being held in Delaware County Jail on preliminary charges that include criminal confinement, a Level 3 felony; intimidation with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony; battery with a prior conviction, a Level 5 felony; and strangulation, a Level 6 felony.
