COLUMBUS – A Columbus woman and four alleged co-conspirators are facing federal charges of conspiracy and attempted kidnapping for twice trying to abduct the woman’s ex-boyfriend near his home in Hilliard last year, posing as police officers on one occasion.
The indictment alleges that two men wearing all black with black face masks approached the victims as they got into a vehicle early in the morning on Nov. 25, Tased the man’s neck and tried to pull him from the vehicle. The female victim screamed and the man was able to push the attacker back, prompting the two suspects to run away, authorities said.
On Dec. 4, the female victim tried to leave their home in the man’s truck but was blocked in by another vehicle. Two men jumped out of the vehicle, wearing black jackets with “Police” patches and carrying a photograph of the male victim. They yelled “Police, open the door” and tried to pull the truck door open but the woman honked the horn and drove over a curb to get away, according to court documents.
Denia Avila, 37, and the three men and one woman indicted with her face life in prison if convicted of conspiring to commit kidnapping, 20 years for attempted kidnapping and up to five years for conspiring to impersonate a federal officer.