CBS2 Exclusive: Suspected Kidnapper Arrested In Greenburgh Shed After Crash, Chase
GREENBURGH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A manhunt in Westchester County came to a dramatic ending Monday.
As CBS2's Lou Young reported exclusively, what started as a crash on the New York State Thruway revealed an alleged kidnapping plot, a chase, and a man discovered hiding among suburban homes.
Only CBS2's cameras were there as the man was taken into custody.
He was on the run for more than nine hours in the leafy suburbs of Westchester County.
Johuan Ramos, 28, of the Bronx, was bleeding from head wounds as he fled, following the smash-up on the New York State Thruway just before dawn Monday.
As CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported, the mangled blue sedan was apparently the scene of a violent struggle over a gun between the suspect and his alleged victim, who apparently fought back.
Police said the suspect blew through a toll plaza in Yonkers just before crashing, and left an injured woman and a gun behind in the disabled car.
During the search of the area, officers had no idea if he had been shot, or if he was armed with a weapon.
"The vehicle struck the right side guard rail, bounced off that, shot across all three lanes to the left center divider concrete barrier; struck that," said New York State Police Sgt. John Antonelli.
The evidence of recent gunplay inside the vehicle was especially alarming.
"There's three bullet holes in the car. But he's not injured as a result of any gunfire. Neither is his victim," said Capt. Doug Larkin of New York State Police Troop K.
The woman in the car said Ramos was her former boyfriend, who abducted her from her apartment and was driving her out of the city.
Antonelli helped capture the suspect, with the assistance of neighbors such as Kris Oser.
"The fellow was bleeding from his ear," Oser said. "He was scared, I mean, and desperate and aggressive."
Oser watched the injured suspect confront her 26-year-old son, David, in their driveway around 6 a.m.
"The fellow got in his car and said, 'Take me to the hospital,' and David said, 'Yo man, get out of my car!'" Oser said.
That was when officers swarmed the neighborhood just off Jackson Avenue and Saw Mill River Road in Greenburgh.
The search sent teams of heavily-armed officers past home security cameras, derailing the normal calm in the area.
"It's not a good way to wake up in the morning," said Steve Minozzi of Greenburgh.
Police combed a local park, a cemetery, and several neighborhoods with weapons, dogs and a helicopter, as residents canceled outdoor plans and locked their doors.
"I said not today -- we're going to put the alarm on so everything is sealed," Minozzi said.
Meanwhile, the search continued on both sides of the Thruway, finally ending in Richard Galante's backyard on Heath Place. Galante, who is renovating his house, was naturally shocked.
"I went there by the garage. Thank God he didn't come into the garage," he said. "Scary – very scary. (I had) no idea."
A dog picked up the scent of the fugitive on the street, but there was no indication that he was still there. Westchester County Police Officer Sal Bunting decided to check the shed, and found their man hot and tired – still bleeding from whatever happened inside the car before the crash.
Larkin said Ramos did not put up any resistance that he knew of, and was not armed when he was apprehended.
In an exclusive interview, Antonelli thanked neighbors and all the agencies involved in the
"We're proud to come to a successful conclusion for the victim and for the community, to make them feel safer and to let them know that, you know, we're relentless until we get our suspect," he said.
The woman who was with Ramos, who has not been identified, was being treated an area hospital for what were reported to be unspecified injuries. She made it back to the Ardsley rest stop after the ordeal, and was expected to recover.
