A Bremerton man was charged with kidnapping in the first degree and assault in the second degree after he allegedly severely beat a man and stole the man’s Hummer SUV this summer.

According to court documents, the kidnapping and assault victim told Bremerton Police that two men punched him and forcibly removed him from his 2009 Hummer H3 at the Fred Meyer parking lot in Bremerton on Aug. 29, and then drove him to a residence in Central Kitsap. There, Thomas Patrick Murphy, 50, of Bremerton, allegedly refused to allow the victim to leave, assaulted him and deprived him of his cell phone.

The men kicked the victim as he lay on the ground and Murphy allegedly used a thick flashlight to strike the victim in the head, causing serious injuries. The men later took the victim to the emergency room, where he spent a month recovering.

On Dec. 1 the victim asked police for help recovering his vehicle.

Police obtained a search warrant for the victim’s cell phone and found text messages sent between the victim and Murphy. Apparently, the men were involved in a situation in which one man owed a large drug debt.

On Dec. 9 BPD and sheriff’s deputies chased Murphy as he drove a red sports car for several miles near McWilliams Road. Murphy crashed the car and fled on foot but was located by a deputy with a K9 unit and was arrested near Illahee Road and Third Street.

One of the other men in the case alleged Murphy took the victim’s Hummer and sold it in Mexico to pay off the large drug debt.

According to court documents, Murphy denied assaulting the victim and denied stealing the SUV.