Warner Robins man indicted in drug net also charged in kidnapping

PERRY -- A Warner Robins man indicted in connection with a drug investigation last year also is charged in the kidnapping case of a 74-year-old Bonaire woman in March.

Joshua Troy Moore, 40, was indicted on a methamphetamine possession charge Sept. 29, along with several other people, that stemmed from a six-month drug probe.

That investigation involved authorities from multiple agencies watching people come and go from a Warner Robins residence, a wire tap and the seizure of videos from a home surveillance system.

Moore pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the drug charge.

In the unrelated kidnapping March 19, Moore is accused of dropping off the alleged abductor, 33-year-old Larry Dean Marchant of Abbeville, and then picking him up later after Marchant abandoned the woman's 2007 Lexus RX 350. Marchant is charged with kidnapping Patsy Joiner from her backyard and forcing her to drive to various banks in an attempt to get money.

According to authorities, Marchant hid in the back seat. When Joiner reached a stop sign on Ga. 247 near her Wisteria Drive home, she jumped out of the vehicle and ran. Nearby motorists stopped and helped her. Marchant allegedly climbed over the seat and drove off with her car.

Marchant and Moore were indicted June 2 on charges of kidnapping, armed robbery and burglary. Marchant was indicted on an additional charge of theft by receiving in connection with Joiner's car. Joiner was robbed of $20 at gunpoint, according to an arrest warrant for Marchant.

Both Marchant and Moore have pleaded not guilty.

"Moore adamantly denied knowingly participating in any offense involving the elderly woman," his Macon attorney, Laura D. Hogue, wrote in a defense motion.

Hogue and Houston County Public Defender Nick White, who represents Marchant, could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.

According to a motion for bond consideration for Moore, Marchant is a former boyfriend of the victim's granddaughter and told Moore he wanted to be dropped off near the home to see if she had a new boyfriend. Moore also said he picked up Marchant later after he called, asking for a ride.

Moore knew Marchant from when both men worked at Robins Air Force Base, the motion stated. Moore, a Northside High School graduate, was a sheet metal worker at the base from 2005 until his arrest in the kidnapping case. He worked as a sheet metal worker at Boeing for five years before working at the base.

Moore also has an associate degree from Georgia Military College and a computer programming certificate from Middle Georgia Technical College, according to the defense motion.

When Moore was arrested March 23 in connection with the kidnapping, authorities found he had three 30-milligram pills of Oxycodone, a narcotic pain medication, according to the arrest warrant. The next day, a Glock 9mm handgun that was reported stolen was recovered in a search of Moore's home on Jay Drive.

Moore was indicted separately June 2 on a charge of possession of Oxycodone. That charge stems from the pills found on him when he was arrested. He also was indicted on a charge of theft by receiving stolen property in relation to the gun. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.

He has no prior criminal record, according to the defense motion.

The motion against bond filed by the prosecution noted the nature of the charges of kidnapping, that the victim allegedly was threatened with death, and that there was a weapon and illegal narcotics. District Attorney George Hartwig argued in the motion that Moore was a threat to the community and a risk to intimidate witnesses. Bond was denied.

Both Marchant and Moore have been held without bond at the Houston County jail since their arrests in connection with the kidnapping in March. The drug probe started in April and ended in October 2014.

To contact writer Becky Purser, call 256-9559, or find her on Twitter@becpurser.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Warner Robins man indicted in drug net also charged in kidnapping ."