Man Rescued From Kidnapping

Los Alamos - February 26th, 2009

Members of law enforcement in North Santa Barbara County have saved a man who was kidnapped in Los Angeles.

On Sunday, February 22, 2009 Daniel Caius Stevens (DOB 12/27/75) and Krista Yee Carlsson (DOB 3/6/79) left their hometown of San Francisco and drove to Los Angeles in search of their victim who owed a substantial amount of money for a drug debt.

Later that day, the duo lured the 27-year old male victim to a motel in the L.A. area. When the victim entered the motel room, Stevens overpowered him by punching the victim in the head. The suspects then tied up the victim and put him in the back seat of their car. Over the course of the next 24-hours they drove the victim around the Los Angeles area where they attempted to contact acquaintances of the victim to collect the money for the debt.

After their attempts failed, they decided to head to San Francisco with their victim still in the back seat. While en route, they apparently got tired and pulled off Highway 101 at Alisos Canyon Road to rest.

Around 3:15am (2/24/09) CHP officers noticed the car and approached the vehicle. After speaking with the occupants in the front seat they discovered the victim tied up in the back seat. The CHP contacted Detectives with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department who began an investigation.

The two suspects where taken into custody and booked ($1,000,000 bail) on charges of felony kidnapping and extortion which, if convicted, could lead to a life sentence for both. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for a head injury and then released from the hospital. The victim’s name is not being released pending further investigation.

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