LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Four people have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping and assault of a woman Tuesday morning.
Around 3:35 a.m., Las Vegas police were dispatched to an apartment complex near the 2700 block of North Rainbow Boulevard, near Smoke Ranch Road, for reports of gunshots and two SUVs driving recklessly in the area. Arriving officers were approached in the parking lot by an injured woman who stated she had been kidnapped and beaten by three men and a woman. The victim was transported to UMC Trauma with non-life-threatening injuries.
According to 18-year-old Samaya Bailey's arrest report, the victim was at a bar when MGM Grand when she met Bailey, who identified herself as "Special." Bailey invited the victim to drink in her room at the MGM Grand. About 10 minutes after getting into the room, a man calling himself Marcus, entered the hotel room. He was later identified as 19-year-old Shamar Beard.
The victim told police she began feeling uncomfortable and told Beard and Bailey that she was going to leave. Police said Beard then pulled out a handgun and demanded money from the victim, taking $300 she had in her possession.
According to police, Bailey and Beard forced the victim to a black Jeep SUV where 18-year-old Kyle Elkins-Beach and 19-year-old Willie Lomas were waiting for them. Once inside the vehicle, the suspects demanded more money and wanted to know where the victim was staying so they could get more money from her. On the drive to the Motel 6, the suspects told the victim that her boyfriend was going to have to pay to get her back.
The suspects took additional personal property at Motel 6. The victim was forced to contact her boyfriend in an attempt to extort extra money, and he was able to locate her approximate location in the 2700 block of North Rainbow Boulevard through a phone tracking application.
The victim’s boyfriend drove to the area and saw the suspect vehicle. He followed the suspects into the apartment complex. According to the arrest report, the victim was beaten in the complex before she was able to escape. As she was running away, she heard shots fired. She told police she believed they were shooting at her and were going to kill her.
Later in the day detectives were able to identify and locate all four suspects.
They were transported to the Clark County Detention Center and currently face charges for kidnapping 1st degree, assault with a deadly weapon, battery with substantial bodily harm, and conspiracy to commit battery.
According to the arrest report, the victim had multiple scratches, a large scratch under her right eye and fractures on her face from the beating.
13 Action News spoke with a safety expert on how to stop something like this from happening to you. You should be wary of going up to hotel rooms with strangers, to begin with, but once there, you'll need a window to escape. In this case, what the woman did was right to alert her boyfriend who had a tracker on her phone.
But other than that, experts say you should wait until you get into a crowd. That's when you should let out a scream. You should also pretend you're fainting and drop to the ground. That will create a scene and even draw security's attention.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
