Gulfport man receives 30 years for kidnapping, assaulting girlfriend

GULFPORT, Miss. (WXXV)- A Gulfport man has been sentenced on multiple charges after an assault on his girlfriend.

Thirty-one-year-old Ferrell T. McCord pled guilty to felony aggravated assault domestic violence, kidnapping and witness tampering after an assault on his girlfriend.

According to investigators, the victim’s father received disturbing messages from his daughter about being assaulted by McCord. He contacted Gulfport PD to conduct a welfare check.

Officers were unable to contact the victim at first, but after returning to the home a second time, the victim ran out of the home with a small child and injuries to her face and neck.

The victim reported that McCord broke her jaw, strangled her, and held her against her will during an argument.

After the incident, detectives recovered calls and messages from McCord where he made promises to the victim, offered money, and made threats to coerce her into providing false statements.

After the arrest, law enforcement officials lost contact with the victim for months. However, the staff of the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence worked with staff at the District Attorney’s Office to find the victim and get her to court.

She was found in an inoperable RV parked in the driveway of the defendant’s parent’s home.

With help from law enforcement, the victim was taken to a safe location.

She later offered testimony against McCord which resulted in his indictment by the grand jury and ultimately a conviction.

McCord was sentenced to 30 years, with 20 to serve in custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, followed by five years of post-release supervision.