Bounty Hunters Stopped On I-95, Charged With Kidnapping

PROVIDENCE, RI—Two Connecticut bounty hunters wound up on the wrong side of the law and in custody after they captured a suspect inside Sixth District Court in Providence on Thursday. State police stopped their car on I-95 near Route 117 in Warwick and arrested them for kidnapping and conspiracy after a trooper working a courthouse security detail confirmed the bounty hunters should not have been operating in Rhode Island.

Angel Guadalupe, 45, of Bristol, Conn.,, and William Sobota, 40, of Burlington, Conn., were each charged with kidnapping and conspiracy, according to Laura Meade Kirk, spokeswoman for the state police. Both were released on personal recognizance after an arraignment this afternoon in Providence. Their suspect was also released.

Kirk said the bounty hunters found out a suspect had a court date in Providence on an unrelated charge. After he was arraigned, they stopped him and led him away, she said.

"The bounty hunters detained the suspect based on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear for misdemeanor crimes in Connecticut," she said. "However, Rhode Island General Laws do not allow for out-of-state bounty hunters to operate in this state."

The Trooper also confirmed there was no active arrest warrant for the suspect in Connecticut, so extraditing him was not an option.

William Sobota

Angel Guadalupe

Photos Courtesy Rhode Island State Police