Federal prosecutors take over case involving pair accused of kidnapping Las Vegas woman
Federal prosecutors have taken over the case of two people arrested in New Mexico in connection with the violent kidnapping of a Las Vegas woman.
Jack Morgan, 31, and Sophie Brown, 19, were being held in a Santa Fe jail awaiting a Feb. 15 preliminary hearing on first-degree kidnapping, false imprisonment and conspiracy charges. Court records show the charges against the two were dropped in Santa Fe Magistrate Court on Thursday.
The suspects were released into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on Wednesday, and federal prosecutors have taken over the case, court records show.
The kidnapping happened about 10:30 a.m. Jan. 30 at the woman’s apartment near Decatur Boulevard and Flamingo Road. A witness saw a woman bound by chains and wearing only underwear being dragged into a white van by a man later identified as Morgan, the woman’s ex-boyfriend, police have said.
Brown was also in the van and arrested on the same charges; police initially identified Brown as a man, but arrest reports later indicated Brown identified as a woman.
A New Mexico police officer stopped a similar van that night, and as the officer approached the van, “he could hear screaming and yelling ‘help me,’” arrest reports said.
The attack left the victim with cuts and bruises on her arms, leg, neck and face. Arrest reports said Morgan planned to confine her in a cave in New Mexico and brainwash her into marrying him.
Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Follow @WesJuhl on Twitter.
