A man from New York was arrested in Southern California over the weekend after allegedly kidnapping a North Carolina woman and taking her on a cross-country crime spree, authorities said Monday.
San Bernardino County deputies responded on Saturday to The Shoppes at Chino Hills in the 13900 block of City Center Drive after reports of suspicious people loitering in front of a Sephora store, according to a news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
When deputies arrived, they detained two people and launched an investigation. They found several fake identification cards, Social Security cards, and debit cards, the release stated.
Investigators interviewed one of the individuals outside the store — a 51-year-old woman from North Carolina. According to officials, they discovered she had been kidnapped and forced to travel across the country by Rahson Govantes, 28, of New York, and an unidentified woman, to commit fraud throughout the United States.
“During their travels, Govantes and the female suspect tortured and abused the victim by burning her with cigarettes and a curling iron,” deputies reported.
Govantes was arrested and booked on several felony charges, including aggravated mayhem, torture, kidnapping, and assault with a deadly weapon, officials said.
Deputies added that investigators are working to identify the female suspect and any additional victims.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Chino Hills Police Department at (909) 364-2000.
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