Two people have been arrested and police are searching for a third suspect after a Methuen man was robbed and kidnapped at gunpoint Thursday night from his Massachusetts home, officials say.
Eric Deugarte, 25, and Meghan Wood, 24, were both charged with armed robbery and kidnapping, Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon said in a statement. Deugarte was also charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Deugarte and Wood, both of Methuen, were arraigned Friday at Lawrence District Court and ordered held without bail pending dangerousness hearings scheduled for June 10.
Methuen police say they responded around 10:09 p.m. Thursday to a home on Oakland Avenue for a report of an armed robbery. The victim, who is not being identified, told responding officers that he had been robbed by two men and a woman.
The victim told police he had invited the woman, later identified as Wood, over to his home. When she arrived, he went outside to greet her and was allegedly forced at gunpoint by two men into a white SUV.
The victim was physically assaulted, threatened and robbed of his personal belongings while inside the SUV, according to police.
The victim was ultimately let go and later called police to report the incident. He declined medical treatment, police said.
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Methuen police detectives investigating the incident determined Wood had been driving the SUV during the alleged kidnapping.
Officers located the SUV a short time later and pulled it over in the area of Tuscany Drive. Deugarte and Wood were both inside the vehicle and arrested without incident, police said.
Police are searching for the third suspect, who police described as an adult light-skinned black male with a long ponytail, weighing approximately 155 pounds.
"We urge anyone who might have further information about this incident to share it with the Methuen Police Department," Methuen Mayor Neil Perry said in a statement.
Solomon said police are determined to find the third suspect and are asking for the help of the community in identifying and locating that person.
Anyone with information about the incident or third suspect is asked to call the Methuen Police Department at 978-983-8752. The investigation is active and ongoing.
