May 25th, 2024 by WCBC Radio

Maryland State Police made five arrests in connection with an alleged kidnapping and assault that occurred in Carroll County on May 21, 2024. The accused are identified as Dequan Tyheem Gaines, 27, Brian Scott Johnson, 30, Jordan Gabrielle Riley, 29, Marc Anthony Rivera, 21, and his sister Sylena Marie Rivera, 19, all of Westminster. Gaines, Riley, and Marc Rivera are criminally charged with kidnapping, second degree assault, false imprisonment and extortion. Johnson and Sylena Rivers are charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and extortion.  All five are currently held without bond at the Carroll County Detention Center.

The two victims are adults, one man and one woman. Their identities are being withheld at this time.

Troopers from the Westminster Barrack initiated the investigation on May 21, 2024 after responding to a residence in Westminster for the report of a kidnapping. The mother of one of the victims reported to police that her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend had been held captive.

While actively investigating the incident, Maryland State Police made contact with the male victim in a disabled vehicle on May 21 in the parking lot of a restaurant in Westminster.  He was interviewed by Maryland State Troopers at the scene and later treated for injuries allegedly sustained during the incident at the Carroll Hospital Center.

The female victim was located at 8:00am, the following morning in a different parking lot in Westminster.  She was uninjured.

Maryland State Police from the Westminster Barrack are leading the investigation. Assistance was provided by State Troopers from the Criminal Enforcement Division Western Region and the Maryland State Apprehension Team.  The U. S. Marshals Service and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office also provided assistance. The investigation is active and ongoing.