7 days ago
18-year-old charged for kidnapping woman in Montgomery County
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — An 18-year-old man from Burtonsville is facing charges related to a kidnapping that spanned two counties in Maryland.
The Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) said that on June 1, around 6:25 p.m., officers responded to Wexhall Drive and Greencastle Road for a reported kidnapping.
Witnesses reported seeing a man grab a woman and force her into a sedan before driving off. As they left, the victim managed to throw her purse out of the car's window. Officers found the purse and learned who the victim was through her ID.
They soon identified the suspect as 18-year-old Joel Akakpo.
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Soon after, the Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD) got a call for a 'suspicious situation' involving the same sedan on Flintrock Drive in Beltsville.
A witness said that they saw a woman inside a car screaming for help. She was able to lock the man out of the car for some time, but he used a rock to break a window and get back in before driving away.
One day later, on June 2, MCPD officers, alongside the U.S. Marshals Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, found both Akakpo and the victim in Burtonsville on Almanac Court.
The woman had minor injuries from the incident.
Akakpo is facing charges of kidnapping and second-degree assault and was held without bond.
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