Wife-Kidnapper Convicted In Abduction-Turned-Car Chase, DA Says

QUEENS, NY — A northeast Queens man could spend decades in prison after jurors found that he abducted his estranged wife and tried to avoid arrest in a high speed chase, prosecutors said.

Jurors this week found Little Neck resident Yaspal Persaud, 28, guilty on kidnapping, harassment, strangulation and criminal contempt charges in connection to the abduction of his wife on Jan. 22, 2021.

Persaud's marriage was already deteriorating in the weeks before the abduction. On Christmas Eve, police officers conducting a wellness check found that Persaud had strangled his wife and caused her to pass out at least three times when she told him she was leaving him the night before, the District Attorney said.

Officers issued an order of protection against Persaud on his estranged wife's behalf, but that didn't stop the 28-year-old from further violence, prosecutors said.

On the morning of the abduction, Persaud waited in the parking lot of an Auburndale CityMD where his wife worked and ambushed her once she arrived, forcing her into the backseat of his car and speeding off with her legs hanging out and the door ajar, according to the DA.

The Little Neck resident drove around for several hours with the 30-year-old woman trapped in the car and, when police tracked his location about noon, avoided arrest in a high speed chase, prosecutors said.

After that close call, he ditched his car and had a friend drive him and his estranged wife to a Howard Beach motel, according to the DA.

Eventually, the NYPD tracked his and his victim's phones to the motel, where he was arrested and she was rescued, prosecutors said.

"The defendant’s criminal actions made his estranged wife fear for her life," District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

"Domestic violence is not acceptable in any form and my office will continue to hold accountable those who choose to inflict physical harm and mental trauma on their intimate partners."

After a nine-day trial, a jury found Persaud guilty of second degree kidnapping and harassment, among other charges, for which he now faces a sentence of up to 32 years in prison, the DA said.

Persaud was ordered to return to court on Sept. 15, prosecutors announced.