Corbin man indicted for plotting to kidnap infant nephew

A Corbin man accused of plotting to kidnap his infant nephew and hold him for a $50,000 ransom was indicted Monday in Whitley Circuit Court.

Forty-nine-year-old Doyle Fox was indicted on one count of criminal solicitation to commit kidnapping stemming from the alleged incident on April 21.

According to the indictment, Fox allegedly solicited Samuel Hatfield to participate in kidnapping the child for the purpose of obtaining a ransom from the child’s mother, who is a bank officer in Lexington.

Williamsburg Police Detective Bobby Freeman began an investigation after Whitley County Jailer Brian Lawson contacted him about an extortion and kidnapping plot.

Fox had allegedly spoken with Hatfield who was also incarcerated in the jail about the plot. Hatfield took that information to Lawson.

Hatfield, who had spoken with Freeman, was placed back in the cell with a hidden recorder on his person

The plan was to kidnap the child belonging to Fox’s sister and exchange the child for the ransom money.

When Freeman spoke with Fox about the alleged plot, he reportedly denied the allegations.

“He said he was just kidding,” Freeman said of Fox.

Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird said previously that he doesn’t believe Fox could have carried out the plan but admitted it had been well-thought-out.

Fox was also indicted on one count of first-degree persistent felony offender.

On July 18, 2003, Fox engaged in an 11-hour standoff with Corbin police.

He barricaded himself into his Fairview Avenue home after missing a circuit court appearance, and allegedly fired a single shot when police showed up to arrest him.

Fox had been scheduled to be tried that day on a robbery charge.

Fox also faced separate charges in connection with an incident days earlier involving the robbery of a local woman.

On Nov. 20, 2003, Fox and two other prisoners were being escorted back to their cell following a church service in the multi-purpose room at the jail when they jumped a guard.
The inmates used a belt and cord to restrain the guard’s hands and feet and put a sock in his mouth before locking him in the cell. They then took his keys and fled from the back of the jail towards the front door. Two other deputy jailers spotted them before they left the facility.

Fox pleaded guilty in July 2004 to being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun and first-degree bail jumping stemming in connection with the standoff, and to amended charges of second-degree robbery in the two robbery cases.

Fox also pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and unlawful imprisonment in connection with the escape case.

He received a 22-year prison sentence in connection with those cases, but was later paroled.

Fox remains in the Whitley County Detention Center on a $100,000 cash bond.