Eighteen-Year-Old Charged with Kidnapping

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Gaithersburg, MD – An 18-year-old Burtonsville man is in custody following the kidnapping of an adult female that began in Montgomery County and continued into Prince George’s County.

On Sunday, June 1, 2025, at approximately 6:25 p.m., Montgomery County Department of Police 3rd District officers responded to the area of Wexhall Drive and Greencastle Road for the report of a kidnapping.

Witnesses reported seeing a man grab a woman and force her into a black Infiniti sedan before driving off. As the vehicle left the area, the victim managed to throw her purse out of the window.

Responding patrol officers recovered the purse and identified the victim through her ID. The suspect was later identified as 18-year-old Joel Akakpo.

Officers saturated the area but did not locate the Infiniti. A short time later, Prince George’s County Police received a call for a suspicious situation involving the same suspect vehicle on Flintrock Drive in Beltsville. A witness reported seeing a woman inside the car screaming for help. According to the witness, the victim briefly locked the suspect out of the vehicle, but Akakpo used a rock to break a window and regained entry before driving away.

Montgomery County officers later located the abandoned vehicle on Medallion Drive in Beltsville. The vehicle had a broken window, but the victim and suspect were not at the scene. Officers from both Montgomery and Prince George’s counties conducted an extensive search of the area.

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On Monday, June 2, Montgomery County Police Task Force Officers with the U.S. Marshals Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force located both Akakpo and the victim on Almanac Court in Burtonsville. Akakpo was taken into custody without incident.

The victim had minor injuries from being forced into the vehicle and from broken glass.

Joel Akakpo is currently being held without bond at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit. He is charged with kidnapping and second-degree assault.

Release ID: 25-250
Media Contact: S.D. Goff
Categories: arrest , assault , kidnapping

For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail_Pol.aspx?Item_ID=47155