(Thursday, Dec 15, 2011)--A man who was accused of wielding a gun to kidnap a Northeast Portland store owner, then rob her of $600, will serve about two years in jail -- not the 7 1/2 years or more he faced if convicted of those crimes. The reported victim, who owns Merkato Ethiopian Music & Food on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard, didn't call police until months after she said Armiyas Ashenafi kidnapped her in her car on Dec. 28, 2009. She said Ashenafi, a customer, told her his brother had been stabbed and he needed to get to the hospital, so she agreed to give him a ride.
She said he directed her to a parking lot at Lloyd Center mall, where he pointed a gun at her and drove around for hours before ordering her to give him money and letting her go.
She told police that he'd threatened to kill her and kidnap her young daughter if she told anyone, and she only reported the incident when he returned to her store in February 2010.
Because so much time had passed, Portland police were unable to lift fingerprints from the woman's car. They also were unable to find video of her car at Lloyd Center because video from that date no longer existed. Bank records and video at an ATM verified her report of withdrawing $600.
They also showed her incorrectly punching in her PIN a few times -- she said, because she was so frightened. Video shows a man in her car, but his identity is unclear.
Ashenafi, 22, of Hubbard, claimed that the woman made up the story because she was jealous. He said she was upset upon learning that he'd had a baby boy with another woman. He told police that he'd routinely met the woman at a Lake Oswego hotel, but police could find no proof that he'd visited that hotel with the woman. Read more from Oregon Live »
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Portland police say 21-year-old Hubbard man kidnapped a city store owner at gunpoint and threatened to kill her
Boulevard, didn't call police until months after she said Armiyas Ashenafi kidnapped her in her car on Dec. 28, 2009. She said Ashenafi, a customer, told her his brother had been stabbed and he needed to get to the hospital, so she agreed to give him a ride.She said he directed her to a parking lot at Lloyd Center mall, where he pointed a gun at her and drove around for hours before ordering her to give him money and letting her go.
She told police that he'd threatened to kill her and kidnap her young daughter if she told anyone, and she only reported the incident when he returned to her store in February 2010.
Because so much time had passed, Portland police were unable to lift fingerprints from the woman's car. They also were unable to find video of her car at Lloyd Center because video from that date no longer existed. Bank records and video at an ATM verified her report of withdrawing $600.
They also showed her incorrectly punching in her PIN a few times -- she said, because she was so frightened. Video shows a man in her car, but his identity is unclear.
Ashenafi, 22, of Hubbard, claimed that the woman made up the story because she was jealous. He said she was upset upon learning that he'd had a baby boy with another woman. He told police that he'd routinely met the woman at a Lake Oswego hotel, but police could find no proof that he'd visited that hotel with the woman. Read more from Oregon Live »
Related topics:
Portland police say 21-year-old Hubbard man kidnapped a city store owner at gunpoint and threatened to kill her
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