Basham arraignment set for Monday

The man accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and abducting the couple’s 6-year-old child will be arraigned in Lincoln County District Court on Aug. 31.

Benjamin Jay Basham, 32, faces charges of aggravated assault and parenting interference, both felonies. His arraignment was initially scheduled for Aug. 24, but the case was continued for attorney reassignment.

Basham and his daughter were the focus of a short missing person alert in late July. That’s when the 32-year-old allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend in Troy, took the child and fled, according to court documents.

In an affidavit, Travis Miller of the Troy Police Department described arriving at the victim’s home about 6:29 p.m., July 29. He found the child’s mother sitting on the ground and struggling to stand while awaiting an ambulance.

Stuttering, slurring her words and holding a hand to her head, the woman told Miller that Basham came over earlier in the day and asked to take the child. When she refused, Basham hit her and grabbed the child, according to court documents.

She followed Basham outside of the house and attempted to stop him. He struck her again, court documents said.

The woman told Miller that Basham hit her with an object. Miller inspected the scene, but could only turn up an empty 24-ounce can of beer. Investigators later theorized that the can had been full when Basham arrived and he used it to allegedly strike his ex-girlfriend, court documents said.

During their conversation, the woman increasingly became disoriented, according to court documents. Miller wrote that the woman began screaming, telling him that she had lost her sight. As they loaded her onto an ambulance, the woman continued to complain of vision problems and mistook Chief Katie Davis of the Troy Police Department for her mother.

While the woman received medical care, Miller and Davis joined with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to search the region for Basham. Authorities in Oregon found the 6-year-old several days later.

Deputies with Jackson County Sheriff’s Office located the child in the backseat of a vehicle leaving a property on Humbug Creek Road on July 31, according to a press release. A relative was driving the vehicle, officials said.

After safely securing the child, members of the county SWAT team descended upon the property and made contact with Basham. He was arrested and held on a $100,000 bond.

The child was turned over to the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Back in Lincoln County, Miller ran a criminal history on Basham and found at least one charge each of partner or family member assault and endangering the welfare of a child, he wrote in the affidavit.

Aggravated assault carries a maximum punishment of 20 years behind bars and a $50,000 fine. Parenting interference is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and a $50,000 fine.