UPDATE: Already accused of rape and battery, Tennessee man wanted in third woman beating

UPDATE: Clay Fuller, the prosecutor handling James Leon Works' case in Catoosa County, said his trial in September was pushed back because some critical witnesses were not available when the trial was supposed to begin.

Previous story:

James Leon Works, who was charged with hitting one woman, then raping another woman on two separate occasions, is now suspected of beating a third woman.

East Ridge police have been searching for Works since Dec. 24, when an ex-girlfriend showed up at a hospital with a broken nose, a broken chin, bruises and cuts, according to an incident report. Meanwhile, he is still awaiting trial in Catoosa County, Ga., for two arrests that involve charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault and rape.

Works, 43, could not be reached for comment Wednesday, as a phone number listed for him is on a setting that does not allow incoming calls. A family member also did not answer when a reporter showed up at his house in Fort Oglethorpe.

His attorney in Georgia, public defender David Dunn, said he has not heard from Works. The woman in the most recent case declined to discuss the alleged crimes and told a reporter she does not know how to get in touch with Works.

"I wish I did," she said. "He would be in jail right now."

Actually, records show, Works had been in jail. But a judge released him on his own recognizance in September.

Works has built a long rap sheet in recent years, beginning in February 2013. According to an indictment in Catoosa County, Works grabbed a woman's arms, pushed her and hit her while at a house on Park Lake Road in Rossville. During the same incident, he is accused of dragging a boy by the arm and whipping him with a belt.

A grand jury indicted him four years ago on charges of false imprisonment, battery, two counts of simple battery and two counts of cruelty to children. His case is still pending in Catoosa County.

In May 2014, he was charged again, this time in Hamilton County. A woman said he kept her in a motel room after a couple of dates. She said he punched her, kicked her, stomped on her, dragged her by the hair, burned her on her back, raped her and urinated on her.

After several days together, the accuser told the Times Free Press, Works fell asleep. She escaped.

"I'm lost," she later said. "I'm hurt. I'm paranoid. I'm confused. I don't know what I am. I try to act really normal for people because it bothers them what happened to me. I try to hold it together for people."

It is against Times Free Press policy to identify alleged victims of sex crimes.

But that case did not lead to a conviction on any violent offenses, for a couple of reasons. First, the accuser said Chattanooga Police Department Detective Karl Fields tried to have sex with her while he was investigating the case. (Fields was later fired and charged with official misconduct and tampering with evidence. His own case is still pending.)

Also, the prosecutor in the case said the accuser's reliability would have been questioned during the trial. She had been arrested for drug charges. Plus, the prosecutor said, the accuser had written friendly notes to Works while he was in jail.

In that case, Works pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine.

Then, in January 2016, Fort Oglethorpe police arrested Works, again on a rape charge, again with the victim from the May 2014 case. Detective Steve Blevins said the accuser showed up at the police station with a bruised throat and a cut on the side of her head. She told investigators she and Works got back together, but then he kidnapped her and raped her three times.

The charges in the case are pending. In April, Judge Ralph Van Pelt Jr. denied Works' request for a bond. But in September, Judge Jon "Bo" Wood allowed Works to leave jail on his own recognizance. Wood wrote in his order that Works' trial was supposed to happen that month, but the prosecutor was not yet ready.

The assistant district attorney handling the case, Clayton Fuller, is out of the office and did not return an email Wednesday seeking comment.

Three months after Works left jail, the third accuser said, he kidnapped her from work, drove her to a hotel and hit her and slapped her until the manager kicked them out for making too much noise. She said Works then drove to Camp Jordan in East Ridge, dragged her out of the car, punched her, kicked her and threatened to kill her with a hammer.

"As she lay on the ground," an officer wrote in his incident report Dec. 24, "he would kick her until she got up. She stated if she didn't get up fast enough, he would kick her back to the ground."

Works later let her leave, according to the report. Later, at the hospital, the officer wrote that bruises, scrapes and cuts marked the woman's face, arms and legs. A doctor told the officer that the woman's nose and chin each were broken in several places.

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.

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