SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CA — A routine call regarding suspicious activity outside a shopping center led to the dramatic rescue of a captive woman and the arrest of a New York man accused of a horrific, cross-country kidnapping and torture spree.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that 28-year-old Rahson Govantes was taken into custody over the weekend at The Shoppes at Chino Hills. He now faces a string of severe felony charges, including aggravated mayhem, torture, kidnapping, and assault with a deadly weapon.
The investigation began on Saturday afternoon when deputies were dispatched to the 13900 block of City Center Drive following reports of individuals loitering suspiciously outside a Sephora store.
Upon arriving at the upscale outdoor shopping plaza, deputies detained two individuals. A search quickly uncovered an array of fraudulent identification cards, social security cards, and debit cards. However, as investigators began interviewing one of the individuals—identified as a 51-year-old woman from North Carolina—the nature of the call shifted from financial fraud to a harrowing rescue mission.
According to a news release from the Sheriff’s Department, investigators determined that the victim had been forcefully kidnapped in North Carolina and driven across the United States against her will. Authorities allege that Govantes, along with an unidentified female accomplice, forced the victim to travel across state lines to participate in a widespread fraud ring.
The compliance of the victim was maintained through extreme violence. Deputies revealed that during their cross-country travels, Govantes and the second suspect routinely tortured and abused the woman, which included burning her with cigarettes and a curling iron.
Govantes was booked into a local San Bernardino County correctional facility on multiple felony counts. While the primary suspect is behind bars, the threat is not entirely neutralized. Detectives are actively working to identify the female suspect who aided Govantes, and they are investigating whether the duo has targeted other victims using similar methods.
The Chino Hills Police Department has urged anyone with information regarding this case or the unidentified female accomplice to contact them immediately.
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