Natchez man pleads guilty to abducting runner, will be sentenced Thursday
Published 3:15 pm Monday, September 18, 2023
- Brandon Christopher "Chris" Bamburg
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NATCHEZ — Brandon Christopher “Chris” Bamburg entered a plea of guilty today in Sixth District Circuit Court.
Circuit Court Judge Carmen Drake said Bamburg pleaded guilty to the crimes for which he was indicted by a grand jury on Feb. 12, 2022 — kidnapping and attempted murder. She said no deal or bargain was involved in Bamburg’s guilty plea today.
Drake said she would issue his sentence in Circuit Court in Adams County on Thursday at 9 a.m.
Bamburg, who was 37 at the time, is accused of abducting and attacking a Natchez woman in her mid-30s who was jogging in the Montebello neighborhood in Natchez on June 4, 2021.
Bamburg allegedly stopped his white Chevrolet 2500 pickup truck, exited it, and asked the victim for directions. After giving him directions, she turned to continue her run. That’s when Bamburg allegedly eased up behind her and pulled a pistol, telling the victim if she ran or screamed, he would kill her.
Adams County Sheriff’s investigators said Bamburg then dragged the victim into his truck and began beating her in the head with the pistol, causing six deep lacerations in the back of her head.
Investigators said at the time when the victim spotted duct tape and zip ties in Bamburg’s truck, she continued to fight him off, biting him several times hard enough to make him let her go.
When the victim got away, she called 911 for help.
Law enforcement searched for Bamburg through the night and into the next morning. Later on the morning of June 5, 2021, Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten found Bamburg sitting in his vehicle across from the Adams County Jail.
Patten was able to convince Bamburg to peacefully exit the vehicle he was in and surrender.
After his arrest, Concordia Parish Sheriff’s deputies, at the request of Patten, went to Bamburg’s home in Ferriday and seized a bloodied gun, which investigators say was used to beat the victim.
Bamburg has remained in jail since the time of his arrest.
“This particular case rocked our community and shook it to its core,” Patten said. “The deputies in the special operations group, investigators and everyone at the sheriff’s office worked day and night to gather intelligence and worked with the community in identifying the suspect accused of this heinous crime.
“When a person experiences something like this, it is very hard for the victim to bounce back after their personal space has been violated in this manner. I hope this brings the family some type of closure and allows them to heal, knowing that an individual capable of a crime like this is now off the streets,” Patten said.
The sheriff thanked Concordia Parish Sheriff David Hedrick and the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office for their help on this case.
“Without them, we may not have retrieved the evidence needed to secure a conviction in this case. Our partnership with them is invaluable,” Patten said.
“I also want to thank members of this community, who work so well with the men and women of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. Working together makes ours a safer community,” he said.