Man arrested, 3 others sought in kidnapping

Baltimore police have arrested one person and are looking for three others suspected of kidnapping two teenagers from a bus stop, holding them captive for hours and beating them in an attempt to elicit information about a stolen PlayStation, a department spokesman said yesterday.

The suspect in custody - identified as Christopher Johnson, 21, of the 5600 block of McClean Blvd. - is being held without bail at the Baltimore City Detention Center pending his June 3 court date. The 31 charges filed against him include multiple counts of first-degree assault, kidnapping, sodomy, false imprisonment and using a dangerous weapon.

Officer Troy Harris, a city police spokesman, said authorities first learned of the attack from hospital officials shortly after the two victims, having been released with new clothes and $20 in taxi money, sought medical treatment.

The spokesman said detectives believe the 16-year-olds were abducted between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. May 2 from a bus stop at East Northern Parkway and McClean Boulevard. Harris said the victims told police that four men - their faces covered and at least two with handguns - forced the teens into a black four-door car.

They were driven around for a while and then taken to a house.

"They were beaten, cut and burned, and the suspects kept asking about a PlayStation game, which the victims said they knew nothing about," Harris said.

Late that Friday night, Harris said, the men put the victims back into the car and drove them to a spot on Echodale Avenue, where they gave them clothes and the cab money, and released them. A bystander helped the victims get to a hospital and notify police.