Two Men Charged With Kidnapping Danvers Woman

Two people were charged with the kidnapping of a 53-year-old Danvers woman on Tuesday night in Newburyport, according to state police.

According to state police, a motorist stopped a trooper working a construction detail and told the trooper that a female had jumped out of a vehicle just before 7 p.m. on Route 95 southbound in Newburyport.

Patrols from the State Police barracks in Newbury were notified and within minutes the female was located on Route 113 near the ramp from Route 95.

The victim, a 53-year-old Danvers woman, had suffered minor injuries and was bleeding. Newburyport Fire Department responded to the scene, but the victim refused medical treatment.

Troopers stopped the 2014 Ford Focus the victim had jumped out of nearby.

The driver, James Poretta, 52, of Peabody, and the passenger, Joseph Poretta, 55, were in the car.

The initial investigation by Trooper Scott Grimes indicated that the victim went to visit the suspects, who were known to her.

During the course of the visit, the victim was physically restrained and forced into the Ford Focus against her will.

The victim had informed the suspects she wanted to leave the vehicle and was restrained from doing so during travel in the vehicle, police said, adding that the victim jumped out of the moving vehicle to escape.

The two suspects were arrested at the scene.

Joseph Poretta and James Poretta were each charged with kidnapping and assault to commit a felony, according to state police.

Both suspects were booked and transferred to the Middleton Jail where they were ordered held without bail by bail commissioner John Fleming until their arraignment at the Newburyport District Court.