Police: Landlord Allegedly Abducted and Dumped Couple in Upper Hudson Valley

Thought your landlord was a pain to deal with? Imagine being kidnapped in the middle of night, tied up, and then left out in the freezing cold in a cemetery? Sounds like the elaborate plot to a TV show, but police say it actually happened in a part of the Hudson Valley early Sunday morning. The Telegraph is reporting that the victims were a 21 year-old woman, and a 32 year-old man. Police say the man was allegedly physically attacked during the abduction.

Officials say a Capitol Region landlord had grown frustrated over time because he was unable to evict a couple of tenants due to COVID-19 rent restrictions. So, police say the 48 year-old landlord took matters into his own hands, by allegedly entering their home in the middle of the night, tying both in zip ties, and placing pillowcases over their heads. To further this terrifying ordeal, police indicate the the landlord was armed at the time, and received help from two other other individuals.

The victims say they were eventually driven to a cemetery in the town of Ghent in Columbia County, where they were dumped off in the middle of the snow and freezing cold temperatures. As the suspects drove off, the woman was able to free herself and make it to a nearby residence to ask for help.

The main suspect has been arrested and arraigned on charges of second-degree kidnapping. Police have not yet announced any other arrests. While it has been understandably frustrating for some landlords to deal with certain tenants over the past year, due to the restrictions on evictions, there is a way to handle it and a way not to. This, obviously, was not the best way.