Minneapolis Man, Teen Facing Kidnapping, Auto Theft, Sexual Assault Charges
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis man and a teenager are facing multiple felony counts of kidnapping, sexual assault and auto theft stemming from an October incident.
Deonte Lawson, 23, and Darrius Friedman, 17, are facing multiple felony counts in the Oct. 16 incident and could face decades behind bars.
According to the criminal complaint, a young woman was getting something out of her car in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis that night when Lawson and Friedman and another juvenile forced her into the car at gunpoint and took all her credit cards.
Prosecutors say they drove the car to a White Castle, where they bought food with the stolen credit cards, then took her to a secluded wooded area where they sexually assaulted her. She later told investigators she thought they were going to kill her.
The three suspects then drove her toward Washington County, but the woman reportedly convinced them to stop for gas in Scandia. There, she ran barefoot into the woods to escape. Eventually, the complaint says, the three suspects gave up searching for her and drove off.
Prosecutors say she was able to describe the three captors to police, who used surveillance footage from the White Castle to get photos of the suspects. Police eventually found 17-year-old Friedman when investigating a reckless driving complaint. He was driving the victim's car.
The Hennepin County Attorney's office says they have identified the third juvenile and expect to charge him soon.
