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Man Accused of Kidnapping Woman in New Haven Arrested

Luis Xavier Rivera booking photo
New Haven Police

New Haven police have arrested a man who is accused of kidnapping a woman early Tuesday morning.

Police said they responded to reports of a fight outside a residence in an apartment complex on Quinnipiac Avenue, between Warwick Street and Judith Terrace, around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and found several people arguing, but no fights.

The officers stayed at the scene until everyone involved left or went home, police said.

Around 3 a.m., officers returned after receiving a 911 call about people fighting again and aone man who was involved in the earlier incident returning with a gun and knife and abducting a 38-year-old woman.

While searching for the victim, the suspect and the minivan he was driving, police broadcast descriptions to other law enforcement agencies and patrol officers stopped 34-year-old Luis Xavier Rivera, of New Haven, at Spring Street and Howard Avenue, police said.

The woman was not injured, according to authorities.

New Haven Police Department
Courtesy: New Haven Police Dept.

Rivera was taken into custody and investigators said they found a large knife and a BB gun that had been modified to resemble an AK-47 assault rifle with high-capacity ammunition magazine.

Rivera is facing charges including kidnapping first degree with a firearm, weapon in a motor vehicle, carrying a dangerous weapon and threatening.

His bond was set at $250,000. Rivera was held at the New Haven Police Department Union Avenue Detention Center and was later transferred to an arraignment hearing at New Haven Superior Court on Tuesday.

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