ROSEVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - An Isanti man is accused of kidnapping a woman at gunpoint from a Roseville dental clinic, holding her captive for hours and sexually assaulting her before finally releasing her in St. Paul.
Isanti kidnapping charges
What we know:
Pao Yang is charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, aggravated robbery, and assault with a dangerous weapon.
Yang was arrested over the weekend by police and is currently being held in Ramsey County Jail.
The backstory:
The arrest followed a public plea made by police last week for information in the case.
Police said the woman was ambushed by a masked man last Wednesday around 5 p.m. while leaving a business in the area of County Road C and East Snelling Service Drive in Roseville.
The accusations
What they're saying:
Officers said the woman was leaving the dental clinic when she was confronted by a masked man wearing gloves and carrying a handgun.
The charges state the man ordered her to keep her head down and walk towards a wooded area near the clinic. According to the complaint, the woman begged the man to just take her car and leave, but the man bound her hands behind her back with zip ties and wrapped tape over her eyes and mouth.
The charges state the masked man covered her with branches and threatened to kill her if she screamed. According to the complaint, the masked man told the woman someone else would come and get her in 15 or 20 minutes. However, it was the same man that returned about 15 minutes later, the complaint states.
Timeline:
The complaint states the masked man moved the victim to another location where she reported hearing two loud bangs she believed were gunshots.
At that location, police said the woman reported being sexually assaulted by her abductor. The victim said she was then brought to a third location where she was forced to change clothes and shower, in an attempt to conceal evidence of the assault. The victim was given a new dress. The victim said she heard her assailant removing tags before handing it to her.
Before being released, the victim told police that her assailant told her he liked killing women and claimed that he had previously killed women in Morocco. He also claimed to have recorded the sexual assault and sent it to others to post it online. He also claimed to have taken photos of her identification and knew where she lived.
The victim was ultimately released in St. Paul on Wheelock Parkway near the Phalen golf course clubhouse. She walked to a Holiday gas station where she was able to get help, though the charges state she was initially afraid to ask because of her captor's threats.
Yang arrested
What they're saying:
Investigators said they were able to recover evidence that ultimately led them to identify Yang as a suspect.
First, they were able to identify the dress the victim was given as a dress from Target. Target was able to track down a recent purchase of a matching dress at a store in Blaine and recover surveillance video showing Yang making the purchase.
Employees at the dental clinic were shown surveillance footage and recognized the man as "Pao," their office cleaner.
Police say records for Yang's phone placed him at the dental clinic, in the area where the victim's vehicle was recovered, and at the Blaine Target. Police also say there was a hit for his vehicle on I-35 in corresponding
Dig deeper:
According to the complaint, police then searched Yang's home and found zip ties, clothing and shoes matching what the kidnapper was wearing, gloves, a handgun matching what the assailant was carrying,
Police also say cameras at the dental clinic had been tampered with prior to the assault.
The other side:
When questioned by police, Yang denied the allegations and said he had been home Wednesday evening. He did admit to buying a dress at Target but said he had purchased it for his daughter and said it was a different color than what police alleged.
He then refused to answer further questions and requested an attorney.
What's next:
Yang made his first court appearance on Monday and is being held in Ramsey County Jail on $2.5 million bail.