The trial of a Fayetteville burglary suspect accused of taking a pregnant woman and her two children hostage has been delayed, according to prosecutors in Washington County.
Christopher Corbitt, 44, was scheduled to start his residential burglary trial Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court. The trial has been reset, though, to March 13, according to the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office.
Corbitt was arrested Nov. 6 on suspicion of residential burglary, false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a minor, carrying a knife as a weapon, fleeing from police and resisting arrest. He remains in the Washington County Detention Center without bond, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in December. He is also being held on suspicion of violating his parole.
The suspect has at least three arrests on his record over the past nine years. A woman took out a restraining order against him in 2005 and 2006, and he was arrested in an assault case in 2005, according to court records. The charges in the assault case were later dropped.
Corbitt was sentenced in 2008 to 18 months in a drug treatment program following a drug arrest conviction. He has been on probation since then, according to court records.
Fayetteville police responded to 401 W. 24th St. on Nov. 5 in reference to a disturbance.
According to police reports, Sabrina Hamilton said a man, later identified as Corbitt, held her and her two children hostage after entering the apartment with a friend. Hamilton said Corbitt refused to leave and lodged two large kitchen knives into the door before deadbolting it.
Hamilton, who was five months pregnant, told police she felt like Corbitt was going to rape her because he made sexual advances by stroking himself and speaking inappropriately. At that point, Hamilton said she grabbed her two children and ran to the first bedroom where she started screaming for help.
According to reports, John Trollinger heard the screams and called for help from two passersby. The bystanders kicked open Hamilton’s door in an effort to help, at which point Corbitt escaped and ran away.
Police say Corbitt was found a short time later, armed with a knife and unwilling to comply with verbal commands. A taser was used to subdue the suspect, who was then arrested and eventually booked into the Washington County Detention Center.
Hamilton was arrested two days later on outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrants of failure to pay fines and failure to pay registration, according to court documents. She was later released from jail on $1,050 bond, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
