ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A 29-year-old Etowah man accused of attacking a woman on a popular Asheville-area hiking trail made his first appearance in court Tuesday, where a judge appointed him a public defender and scheduled his next hearing for next month.
Dillon James Curtis appeared in Buncombe County District Court on May 26 in connection with a reported attack on May 21 in the Bent Creek area. He was arrested May 23.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the court approved Curtis’ affidavit of indigency and appointed the Public Defender’s Office to represent him. Records also indicate the court noted Curtis had been convicted of three or more Class 1 misdemeanor or higher-level offenses in separate court sessions within the previous 10 years.
Curtis is scheduled to return to court for a disposition hearing at 9 a.m. June 16 in Courtroom 3B of the Buncombe County Judicial Complex.
According to arrest warrants, Curtis was initially charged with assault on a female, false imprisonment, interfering with emergency communications and communicating threats. All four charges stem from an incident investigators say occurred May 21.
Authorities later added a second-degree kidnapping charge.
The victim has publicly stated she was hiking in Bent Creek when a man followed her, physically assaulted her and prevented her from leaving. She later shared her account on social media, where it was widely circulated. In her posts, she credited two mountain bikers with intervening after she screamed for help.
Investigators have not publicly released additional details about the alleged attack.