Court documents detail woman's near week-long kidnapping in Tacoma, suspects charged
2 men accused of kidnapping appear in court
The two men accused of kidnapping her were charged on numerous counts at the Pierce County Courthouse on Friday.
TACOMA, Wash. - A woman held captive for up to a week in Tacoma is recovering, and the two men accused of kidnapping her were charged with numerous counts at the Pierce County Courthouse on Friday.
Ottahyo William Caldwell and Milo Junior Tinifu were both charged with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree assault, and obstructing a law enforcement officer.
Tinifu is additionally charged with first-degree unlawful possession of firearm and attempting to elude a pursuing police officer.
"This is going to strike me out for life!" shouted Tinifu to a judge.
Court documents detailed some of what the woman endured over that horrific week she was kidnapped, until she saw an opportunity to escape.
The woman is the ex-girlfriend of Caldwell and their relationship lasted 18 months. The woman told Tacoma Police the suspects held her captive for five to seven days at a trailer and inside a black Mercedes they were driving.
Tinifu and Caldwell drove the woman to a gas station near South Pine Street and South 38th Street in Tacoma. The suspects gave her a power drill and told her to get out to sell it to "street people." As soon as she got far enough away from their car, she dropped the power drill and ran as fast as she could for help.
Police said the woman escaped to a nearby cannabis store and called 911. Officers found her in a bloody sweatshirt with blood on her knees, wounds and bruises all over her body from being kicked and punched. She showed officers red marks on her wrists from being bound together by shoelaces.
Police: 2 men arrested for allegedly kidnapping woman in Tacoma
Two men suspected in a kidnapping were arrested overnight in Tacoma.
Court documents said Tinifu threatened the woman with a gun and would kill her and her family if she didn’t do what he said. She told investigators she believed Tinifu and Caldwell were planning to sexually traffic her for money.
While speaking with police at the cannabis store, the woman told detectives descriptive details about the Mercedes and trailer the suspects held her in. Officers located the trailer and one of the suspects near the car. Soon after officers spotted them, the suspects led them on a chase.
After police used tactics to successfully stop their car, Tinfu and Caldwell crashed the Mercedes into a sidewalk and small tree. Both suspects got out and ran away in different directions.
Police said Tinifu threw a gun in a bush before he was caught, while officers found Caldwell in the woods.
Both are being held on a no-bail hold pending further hearings, which are scheduled for May 6.