Torture, Kidnapping Victim Rescued At IE Mall Following Cross-Country Crime Spree: Police

CHINO HILLS, CA — What started as a loitering report outside an Inland Empire mall over the weekend ended with the arrest of a man suspected of torturing and kidnapping a woman while forcing her to commit crimes across several states, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Rahson Govantes, 28, a resident of Cambria Heights, New York, is being held at the West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of multiple pending felony charges of aggravated mayhem, torture, kidnapping, and assault with a deadly weapon.

When police arrested Govantes in Chino Hills Saturday, he was with two women, one is considered an unidentified suspect, the second, a 51-year-old North Carolina woman who was held captive for an extended period of time and forced to commit fraud to repay debts, sheriff's officials said. Now, officials are seeking additional information about Govantes, her suspected captor.

Shortly before 2:45 p.m. Saturday, Chino Hills Sheriff's Station deputies arrived at The Shoppes at Chino Hills on a report of suspicious subjects loitering in front of a Sephora store.

Along with the 51-year-old kidnapping victim, Govantes and another unidentified woman were detained, Deputy A. Brown said.

During the investigation, deputies learned the victim had been kidnapped and forced to travel across the country with Govantes and another woman to commit fraud throughout the United States to repay debts she owed. Deputies also located several fraudulent identification cards, social security cards, and debit cards.

Investigators believe Govantes and the woman traveling with him tortured and abused the victim, who said she was burned with cigarettes and a curling iron.

The Chino Hills Sheriff's investigators are working to identify the second woman traveling with Govantes, as well as any additional victims in this case, and have released his name and picture. It was not immediately clear if the woman was a second kidnapping victim.

"Govantes' photo is being released and anyone who may have been victimized by him or anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Chino Hills Police Department at 909-364-2000," Brown said.

Callers wishing to remain anonymous may contact the We-Tip hotline at 1-800-782-7463 (1-800-78CRIME) or leave information on www.wetip.com.

Govantes was previously arrested in January in Pennsylvania for a fraudulent credit card scheme, where he racked up over $9,000 in purchases at Lowe's stores across the state, according to Patch. He pleaded guilty and was placed on four years of probation in June.

Patch has reached out to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department for further information on the connection to the Pennsylvania case.

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