Crystal woman charged with kidnapping New Hope woman

.A 24-year-old Crystal woman has been charged with one count of felony kidnapping in connection with a recent incident in New Hope.

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: December 3, 2008 - 1:02 AM

A Crystal woman was charged Monday with felony kidnapping after she allegedly hired another woman to help her abduct a coworker she believed was seeing her ex-boyfriend.

Lesbia Banessa Garcia-Salazar, 20, paid a woman $300 to lure the victim from her apartment, then covered the victim's face and head with tape and forced her into a vehicle at knife point, according to the complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court.

The complaint states:

A woman knocked on the door of the victim's New Hope apartment in the 4100 block of Oregon Avenue N., around 6:30 p.m. Nov. 24 and asked for help. She lured the victim outside and brandished a knife and threatened to kill her if she didn't remain quiet. Garcia-Salazar approached from behind, taped the victim's face and forced her into a vehicle. Once in the vehicle, Garcia-Salazar and her accomplice cut the victim's hair, took off some of her clothing, asked her for money and threatened to kill her.

They drove the victim to unknown location in Minneapolis where the accomplice spoke to a man and then got out of the vehicle. The accomplice allegedly gave the man the keys to the victim's apartment. Garcia-Salazar drove on to south Minneapolis where she stopped and got out of the car. The victim peeked through the tape and saw that the keys were still in the ignition. She got into the front seat and drove to a police station in northeast Minneapolis.

Later that night, according to the complaint, Garcia-Salazar told New Hope police that her vehicle had been stolen. She told police that she hired a woman to lure the victim outside to "deal with the victim," and then kidnapped her because she was upset over the victim taunting her over taking her boyfriend.

Police later learned that the victim's apartment was burglarized that night.

Garcia-Salazar is being held in the Hennepin County Jail. She is due to make her initial court appearance at 9 a.m. Dec. 23.

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