The landlord, Shawn Douglas, 48, was arrested on Monday, and arraigned on charges of second-degree kidnapping. He is being held on $50,000 bail at the Albany County jail, Law and Crime reported.
An Albany landlord unable to evict two tenants due to COVID-19 restrictions allegedly took matters into his own hands to remove them from his property when he kidnapped the pair using zip ties, tape and pillowcases before dumping them in a cemetery in a remote area, according to police and law enforcement officials.
The landlord, Shawn Douglas, 48, was arrested on Monday and arraigned on charges of second-degree kidnapping, a class B felony. He is being held on $50,000 bail at the Albany County jail, Law and Crime reported. Douglas’s bond had already been posted, according to the Albany City Court’s office.
The bizarre occurrence took place between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Sunday at the multi-unit Grandview Terrace located in the city’s South End, according to police. The tenants, a 21-year-old woman, and a 32-year-old man, were sleeping when Douglas allegedly ambushed the pair.
Douglas, who had allegedly been with two other people, allegedly pummeled the 32-year-old man before he was tied up, the Times Union reported.
According to charging documents, the defendant did utilize duct tape, zip ties, and pillowcases to restrain both victims, secured them in vehicles as they transported them from their residence against their will, ultimately discarding the victims in an empty cemetery.
During the alleged abduction, Douglas and two other suspects, who have not yet been identified, drove to a motel that the alleged victims later told police may have been in Colonie and then to an isolated cemetery in Ghent, a rural town in Columbia County, located 35 miles southeast of Albany, the Times Union reported.
Douglas reportedly dumped the pair on cemetery grounds that were covered in snow, sometime before dawn, before driving off. The woman was able to break free and walked to a nearby residence to get help, the news outlet reported.
According to property documents, Douglas has owned the residence from which he allegedly removed the tenants since 2006.
Albany Police Department Public Information Officer Steven Smith told Inside Edition Digital that "the investigation is still ongoing and that more arrests are possible."
On Feb. 21, Douglas was arraigned virtually in Albany City Court and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is being represented by the Albany County Public Defender’s Office, Officer Smith said.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Fri. Feb .26 at 10 a.m., according to the Albany City Court’s office.
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