A landlord in Albany has been charged with kidnapping after he allegedly tied up two of his tenants and drove them to a rural cemetery while holding them at gunpoint. Shawn Douglas, 48, is said to have had the help of two other accomplices during the incident that occurred around dawn last Sunday.
According to law enforcement sources, Douglas tied up two tenants residing in the multi-unit Grandview Terrace residence in the city’s South end. The tenants were a 21-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man with whom the landlord apparently had grown frustrated in his attempts to evict the tenants due to Covid-19 restrictions. The victims were both sleeping at the time Douglas attacked them where he allegedly punched and kicked the male tenant before tying him up.
Police reports said he used zip ties to up the tenants along with some tape and placed pillowcases over their heads. He then loaded them into a Dodge Durango with the help of two unidentified suspects. Douglas then drove them to a motel and from there were taken to an isolated cemetery in Ghent, Columbia County while holding them at gunpoint and dumped them in the snow.
He left the cemetery and abandoned the pair out in the freezing weather conditions, exposing them to a risk of serious physical injury. The woman managed to free herself and seek help from a nearby home, the New York Post reported.
In a story on Times Union, Douglas was arrested Monday afternoon and arraigned on charges of second-degree kidnapping. He was being held at Albany County jail Tuesday afternoon on $50,000 bond.
Property records reveal Douglas had owned the residence since 2006 while police records indicate he has been arrested previously for charges ranging from assault to violating an order of protection.
Police were unable to provide any further details on the other two suspects while the victims could not be reached for comments.
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