Two Massachusetts residents are being detained without bail on allegations they held a woman for ransom on behalf of an acquaintance waiting to collect drug money from the woman’s boyfriend.
The defendants, Maurice Edwards and Jacquelyn Valdez, are charged in Bennington County with multiple felonies: kidnapping for ransom, fentanyl trafficking, cocaine possession and unlawful trespass into an occupied residence.
Edwards, 31, and Valdez, 30, both of Springfield, Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty in court on Sept. 14. Superior Court Judge Kerry McDonald-Cady ordered them jailed without the opportunity to post bail until she has further assessed whether they should remain locked up while awaiting trial.
Authorities accuse Edwards and Valdez of taking a 30-year-old woman against her will from Bennington to Springfield, Massachusetts, on Sept. 12. Bennington police said the woman was held until her boyfriend could pay $1,500 that he reportedly owed two Massachusetts men for whom he was selling drugs in town, according to court documents.
Once her boyfriend had the money, police said, a vehicle delivered the woman early in the morning on Sept. 13 to a predetermined location on Benmont Avenue in Bennington.
Edwards and Valdez were in the vehicle with the woman, along with a driver for the ride-sharing service Uber and a companion, investigators said. The defendants reportedly ran to a nearby apartment that they didn’t have permission to enter, where police later found them.
After they were arrested, Bennington police said officers seized multiple items from the apartment, including fentanyl and cocaine.
The Bennington Police Department said this is the first criminal case of its kind in town. “This is the first time that I can remember where someone has been held against their will for a drug debt that resulted in criminal charges,” Bennington police Lt. Camillo Grande said.
He said police previously received a report of a similar incident in Bennington, but they weren’t able to get enough evidence to build a criminal case.
“We see more incidents of unlawful restraint, where persons are forced to sell narcotics,” Grande said.
Edwards is currently being held at Marble Valley Correctional Facility and Valdez at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility.
Their most serious charge, kidnapping for ransom, is punishable by up to life in prison. Bennington County Deputy State’s Attorney Jared Bianchi is prosecuting.
When asked if Bennington police are pursuing charges against the alleged masterminds in the kidnapping plot, Grande said officers are following up on leads as their investigation of the case continues.
Meanwhile, police said the woman who had been taken for ransom was not injured.
While she was writing a sworn statement at the Bennington Police Department after her release, her boyfriend said they were leaving and told her to tear up the document, according to court filings. The boyfriend reportedly also cursed at one of the main police investigators in the case.
Grande told VTDigger he couldn’t explain why the boyfriend acted that way.
“Investigators worked diligently to secure her safe return and worked for many continuous investigative hours on this case that resulted in criminal charges,” he said.