FBI: Truck Drivers Kidnapped Women, Demanded Ransom

NJ driver accused of kidnapping, assaulting women in at least four states
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 20, 2021 4:41 PM CDT
Truck Drivers Accused of Multi-State Kidnap Spree
Pierre Washington.   (FBI)

The FBI says it is trying to find more potential victims of two long-distance truckers accused of conspiring to kidnap women in multiple states. The FBI says New Jersey-based trucker Brian Summerson contacted women through dating and escort sites and then kidnapped or attempted to kidnap them. An indictment says Summerson, 26, tried to coerce the women into working as prostitutes for Chicago-based trucker Pierre Washington and would demand ransom from their families if they refused, Fox13 reports. Both men have been indicted in a federal conspiracy case filed in Memphis. Before the indictment, Summerson had already been arrested or questioned in connection with kidnapping, attempting to kidnap, or assaulting women in at least four states, starting in June 2019, reports USA Today.

Court documents and law enforcement records state that a New Jersey women told police in January 2020 Summerson kidnapped her and she escaped from his truck days later. FBI records state that he had sent messages to a contact called "Pedro," saying, "Should I keep her and make her work for me or dump her out on the highway on an exit ramp away from everyone?” He also told "Pedro" to call making threats related to having her child. Police say he wasn't arrested because the woman's story was inconsistent. Weeks later, he was arrested in connection with an alleged kidnapping and ransom demand in South Carolina, where deputies say they found a screaming woman in his truck—but his bail conditions allowed him to keep working. The FBI's appeal for more information says the investigation has uncovered videos, photo, and communications with more women on Summerson's devices. (More kidnapping stories.)

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