KINGSTON – A Virginia man, who is homeless according to City of Kingston police, was arrested Aug. 20 after he allegedly kidnapped a 14-year-old child in Maryland and then drove that child to Kingston.
Police did not say whether the child was a boy or a girl.
Kingston police said it is alleged that the suspect, Omar Gutierrez Sanchez, 24, of Virginia, took the 14-year-old against the victim’s will from the area of Baltimore, Md., and then drove the victim to Kingston.
Sanchez refused multiple requests from the victim and the victim’s family to return the child or let the child leave.
They were found together in Kingston, where Sanchez was arrested.
Police said Sanchez and the child are not unknown to each other, but there is no family or other close relationship between them.
Sanchez was charged with second-degree kidnapping, a felony, and second-degree unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors.
Sanchez was arraigned in Kingston City Court and sent to Ulster County Jail in lieu of $200,000 cash bail or bond, pending further court action. The name of his attorney was not immediately available.
Additional charges are possible in Kingston and Baltimore County, Md.
Police said their investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with additional information about the kidnapping should call Kingston police at 845-331-8404 or email Detective Michael Defrance at mdefrance@kingston-ny.gov.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Homeless Virginia man charged in Kingston with kidnapping a 14-year-old
Reporting by Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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