7 Held Hostage in $80K Extortion Plot, Police Say

Four adults and three children held overnight in Bristol apartment, according to reports.

Three men were arrested Monday after allegedly holding seven people hostage for $80,000 ransom, according to reports on Action News and PhillyBurbs. Bristol Township Police arrested Orlando McNeil, 38, Daesean Smith, 21 and Dennis Redding, 18, for allegedly holding four adults and three children hostage, according to Action News. Police said the men planned to lure a man to a nearby apartment complex to rob him, but the man refused to leave his apartment, PhillyBurbs reported. The victim recently received a cash life insurance award after his mother died, according to Action News. Police said McNeil waited outside in a black SUV while Smith and Redding, who were armed, allegedly broke into the victim's Levittown Trace Apartment on Sunday …

•  16 Comments
• Photos (4)

Police & Fire

3 Charged in Kidnapping for Ransom Headed to Trial

Three Levittown residents are charged with holding young woman for $700 ransom in November will face trial in Doylestown.

Levittown residents Shawn Gruber, 21, Nicole Gruber, 20, and David B. Sherman, 21, waived their right to a preliminary hearing this week and are headed to trial. The trio are charged with criminal use of a communication facility, unlawful restraint and several other varying offenses. In late November 2012, Tullytown Borough responded to a call from a Shadetree Lane mother who stated she received a call demanding $700 to be delivered to the women's bathroom at the Taco Bell in Tullytown. If the mother didn’t comply, the voice on the phone said they would “blow her daughter’s head off,” according to court documents. According to police, the incident started when the victim was attempting to buy $700 worth of drugs for the trio at a local …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Police & Fire

Police Rescue Woman Held Unlawfully After Bad Drug Deal

Police and county authorities arrested three people after they held a young woman for $700 ransom Sunday night in Tullytown.

A scary Sunday evening for a young woman in Tullytown started with a drug deal gone bad. Police responded to a call from a Shadetree Lane mother who stated she received a call just after 5 p.m. demanding $700 to be delivered to the women's bathroom at the Tullytown Taco Bell. If the mother didn’t comply, the voice on the phone said they would “blow her daughter’s head off,” according to court documents. Officers responded to get more details from the mother. From the scene, county detectives were called to perform a wiretap to record further phone conversations between the suspects and the woman, Acting Chief Sgt. Dan Doyle said. More calls from the three suspects were received and authorities listened in and recorded them, the acting …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Saanvi Venna's Body Found

The 10-month-old had been missing since Monday. A family friend has been charged in the murders of the child and her grandmother, who reportedly attacked the would-be kidnapper as he tried to take her granddaughter.

The body of Saanvi Venna, the 10-month-old girl who disappeared from the Marquis Apartments in King of Prussia on Monday following the murder of her grandmother, was found at about 4:30 a.m. Friday in a sauna room inside the apartment complex, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman said. Raghunandan Yandamuri, 26, described by Ferman as a friend of the Venna family, has been charged in the murders of Saanvi and Satyavathi Venna. Ferman said Yandamuri told authorities that he intended to kidnap the child and hold her for $50,000 ransom. See this article's photo section to see a copy of the ransom note. "He believed the family was of sufficient means to pay that ransom," Ferman said. As he was leaving the scene of the elder Venna's …

•  171 Comments
• Photos (4)

John

11:01 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012

"Wonder why he wanted 50 K so badly" The guy was an gambling addict. Filed bankcruptcy in 09. Lost $50K in gambling within a year of time. Was married recently to his long time girlfriend who is by the way pregnant now. Had a decent job. i guess he wanted to get the big bucks within a small amount of time to clear his debt. What an Ahole.   more ›