GARFIELD COUNTY, Colorado — Sheriff's deputies on Aug. 23 arrested a man for driving drunk along Interstate 70 near Rifle. They later added a charge of kidnapping based on statements from his two passengers.

The kidnapping case, however, remains under investigation, and officials declined to discuss it until the investigation is complete.

The man, James Robert Willott, 24, was arrested at the GO-FER Foods store in Silt after being spotted on I-70 heading east at shortly after 8 p.m., according to documents on file in the Garfield County Courthouse.

Willott reportedly was driving erratically, speeding up and slowing down to as low as 20 miles per hour, according to a report by a Garfield County Deputy Sheriff.

Two women who also were driving along I-70 at the time told Garfield County deputies that the car Willott was driving was pacing them, speeding and slowing as they did while the occupants of Willott's car allegedly made gestures at the two women in the other vehicle.

The two women also reported that the people in Willott's vehicle were pointing what looked like a rifle out the window.

When deputies checked the vehicle, they found a BB-gun, according to an arrest affidavit.

It was after Willott had been put in the Garfield County Jail that a deputy, arriving later than the others, reported that Willott's two passengers had claimed they had been kidnapped by Willott.

According to the affidavit, the two — Joseph Scuito, 30, and Lila Rae High, 19 — were walking along I-70 that night when Willott pulled over and offered them a ride to Glenwood Springs.

No other information about the kidnapping charge was available at press time, as the matter remains under investigation.

Willott was charged with drunk driving, and not having proof of insurance, a driver's license, or current registration for the vehicle. He was jailed in lieu of a $1,000 bond.

jcolson@postindependent.com