LAYTON, Utah, Sept. 11, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A woman and man were booked into the Davis County jail Saturday night after allegedly kidnapping a man after he failed to return money he had borrowed for drugs, or to turn over illegal pills.
The man texted his mother in a panic as he was being kidnapped, say arrest documents filed by a Layton City Police officer for Tessa Adams Maldonado, 27, and Ely Jacob Burns, 35.
“The victim … reported to his mother via text message that he was being kidnapped and taken” to a unit at the Mountain View Trailer Park, the affidavits say. “Upon police arrival, contact was made with multiple individuals inside the trailer, including (the victim). I asked (him) to exit the trailer as he immediately informed me to put him in handcuffs and escort him off the property. (The victim) appeared in distress and concerned about his current environment.”
After exiting the trailer, the victim “divulged to me that he had borrowed money from (the two) individuals, Ely Burns and Tessa Maldonado, to support a controlled substance abuse habit.”
The man told officers “that Ely and Tessa forced him to share his location via the global positioning system (GPS) on his cellular telephone so they could come and get their money. (The victim) reported that when Ely and Tess arrived, he did not have the money and/or ‘pills’ that he owed them.”
The victim said when the vehicle arrived, Maldonado ordered him to get inside, and the victim “reported seeing Ely in the backseat of the vehicle, with a serrated back machete sitting across his lap, looking at him.”
The victim told officers “he did not feel free to leave, feared for his life, and got inside the vehicle even though he did not want to.” The man also supplied visual details about the machete and its sheath. The victim “then states they all went to trailer where they went inside so they could conduct their business.”
The victim showed officers texts he said were between him and Maldonado, in which she stated that he owed her the “money and/or the ‘pills,’ later determined to mean counterfeit oxycodone they call ‘blues.'”
When officers arrived at the trailer, the suspects were found in the rear bedroom of the residence. The machete was found in the same room, wedged between the dresser and the wall, as if it was attempted to hide it, the officer’s statement says.
The residence owner, who was letting Burns and Maldonado stay at the location, “reported that she does not own any large knives and the machete is not hers and she had never seen it in her life.”
Post Miranda, Maldonado said she asked the victim for his GPS location so she could get her payment, but claimed to have no knowledge of the machete.
Upon consensual search of the residence, “a black/silver lockbox was located under the seat of the couch where Tessa was sitting. Post Miranda, Tessa admitted the case was hers and supplied the appropriate combination to open the case,” the court statement says.
“Tessa supplied consent to open the lockbox and reported it is her drug kit and will be full of paraphernalia. Inside was located a green leafy substance consistent with marijuana, a counterfeit blue oxycodone (30 mg.) pill, hypodermic needles, a glass pipe, a white crystal powder like substance, and various baggies. The lockbox was photographically documented and seized.”
Burns, post Miranda, “denied any allegations of the machete being his possession and/or ever being used when picking up (the victim). Upon interview of other individuals on scene, they reported seeing Ely with a fixed blade knife. Ely is on probation with Adult Probation and Parole (AP&P) and is a Category I restricted person,” his affidavit says.
Maldonado was booked into jail for investigation of:
- Aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony
- Possession of a controlled substances schedule I/II/analog, a class A misdemeanor
- Possession of a controlled substance, marijuana/spice, a class B misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
Burns was ordered held for investigation of:
- Aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony
- Possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony
Any charges will be filed only after by a review by the Davis County Attorney’s Office.
