Kidnapping suspect sought by Douglas County arrested in South Lake Tahoe
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, working in conjunction with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department and the FBI, investigated an alleged kidnapping that happened in the early morning hours of Monday, March 11 in the Stateline casino corridor.
The suspect, South Tahoe resident Moises Casillas, was taken into custody by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department late Monday afternoon without incident, said Douglas County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Jeff Schemenauer.
Casillas, 23, is being held at the El Dorado County Jail on felony domestic battery charges stemming from an earlier incident in California and a $50,000 kidnapping and domestic battery warrant from Douglas County.
The following is a news release from South Lake Tahoe Police:
A domestic violence investigation turns into a kidnapping and child endangerment case for South Lake Tahoe Police. On Saturday, March 9, SLTPD got a report of a domestic violence incident that happened at a South Lake Tahoe Hotel near Stateline. When officers arrived, they found the 24-year-old victim cleaning up her hotel room. She told police her boyfriend, 23-year-old Moises Gomez Casillas, beat and strangled her multiple times and destroyed her cell phone.
She said all of this happened because she wanted money back she had given him and wanted to leave the relationship. Casillas had fled the scene and officers couldn’t find him but an emergency protective order was granted by the El Dorado County Superior Court to protect the victim.
On March 11, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office called SLTPD saying the victim from our domestic violence case had been kidnapped from Harvey’s Casino by Casillas and was headed into California.
Patrol officers started searching for the victim and detectives from Douglas County Sheriff, South Lake Tahoe PD, El Dorado County District Attorney’s office and FBI descended upon the scene.
The investigation led detectives to an apartment in the 4100 block of Manzanita Ave. Casillas has a long history with the South Lake Tahoe Police department including arrests for domestic violence, public intoxication and gang affiliation. Given that, and that this could be a hostage rescue case, SLTPD SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams were activated.
As officers approached the apartment, the victim escaped and was rescued by nearby detectives. The SWAT team served the search and arrest warrant. Inside they found and arrested Casillas.
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