Pikeville, TN (WOKI) – A Pikeville man is behind bars after a joint investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Pikeville Police Department into an alleged kidnapping and assault.
According to the TBI, special agents launched the investigation Friday at the request of 12th Judicial District Attorney General Courtney Lynch. Investigators examined allegations that a woman had been assaulted and held against her will at a residence in the 100 block of Southgate Lane in Pikeville.
During the investigation, authorities say they gathered evidence indicating that Andy Bickford, 50, assaulted the victim and unlawfully restrained her for multiple days.
Following the investigation, agents and officers took Bickford into custody Friday night. He has been charged with one count of Aggravated Assault and one count of Aggravated Kidnapping.
Bickford was booked into the Bledsoe County Jail, where he remains in custody pending court proceedings.
As with all criminal charges, the allegations against Bickford are accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The investigation was conducted jointly by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Pikeville Police Department.
