DONTAY LAVARICE REESE, Kidnapping, Minnesota 2017

A Burnsville man has pleaded guilty to violently kidnapping a woman in 2017, leaving her bound and screaming for help in a wooded area of Wisconsin.

According to a guilty plea filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Dontay Lavarice Reese, 37, met the victim, T.M., in downtown Minneapolis on August 6, 2017. Reese offered the victim a ride home, but instead drove her in the wrong direction into Wisconsin, telling her he would use her to make money as a prostitute.

The victim attempted to escape multiple times, but Reese violently restrained her each time. A family witnessed one of the escape attempts and called 911.

After the 911 call, Wisconsin State Patrol found the victim running out of a wooded area, with her wrists bound together, and screaming for help. Reese came out of the same wooded area shortly after, fully naked, and attempted to cross the interstate on foot. He was taken into custody.

Reese pleaded guilty to kidnapping, a charge that carries a significant prison sentence. The case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, Wisconsin State Patrol, Jackson County (Wisconsin) Sheriff's Department, Eau Claire County (Wisconsin) Sheriff's Department, and Minneapolis Police Department.

Sentencing has been scheduled for June 4, 2019, at 9:00 am in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angela Munoz-Kaphing and John Docherty are prosecuting the case.

The victim endured a terrifying experience, and her courage has helped put a violent offender behind bars. The case highlights the importance of vigilant community members who called 911 to report suspicious activity, leading to the apprehension of the kidnapper.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/burnsville-man-pleads-guilty-violent-kidnapping