A 38-year-old Elkridge man was being held on $250,000 bail in the Baltimore County Detention Center on charges, including kidnapping and first-degree assault, in the reported abduction and beating of a girlfriend, authorities said.

The woman, 44, told Baltimore County police that she was kidnapped from her home in the north county community of Hydes about 3 p.m. Saturday and forced into the passenger seat of her car. She said her assailant drove her around, smoked crack and beat her with his fists.

Police said the woman suffered a broken nose and cheekbones, but was able to flee and call police from a liquor store after the car ran out of fuel about 9 p.m. The man went into a gas station near Washington Boulevard and Levering Avenue in Elkridge.

Jeffrey Dennis Merson of the 5700 block of Main St. was arrested a short time later, police said. The woman was released after treatment at St. Agnes HealthCare, a hospital spokesman said.