Atlanta man convicted of kidnapping Gwinnett County woman

A federal jury convicted an Atlanta man of kidnapping last week after evidence showed he tied up a teenage boy, sexually assaulted the boy’s mother, and drove her across Georgia over two days in 2016.

What happened: 39-year-old Alfredo Capote was found guilty of kidnapping on April 16 after a four-day trial. The crime began on the night of April 7, 2016, at the victim’s home in Duluth. The woman he kidnapped was his girlfriend at the time.

Capote arrived at the house with an unknown masked man. He staged a fake robbery, making the victim and her then-17-year-old son believe the masked man was there to search for Capote’s money. The masked man tied up the victim in her bedroom. Capote and the masked man then tied up her son in his bedroom. Capote, who was armed, went back to the victim’s bedroom and sexually assaulted her.

Across Georgia: Capote drove the victim from Duluth to Austell, where a friend — unaware of the kidnapping — booked a hotel room for him. Capote sexually assaulted the victim again at the hotel. The next day, he drove her to Perry. While the car was moving, the victim jumped out and ran to a nearby gas station to escape.

What’s important: When the kidnapping happened, Capote was already out on bond facing more than a dozen federal charges — wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering, which are crimes involving deception for financial gain. During the kidnapping, he cut off a court-ordered ankle monitor, a GPS tracking device he was required to wear as a condition of his release. He fled and remained a fugitive for more than a year before being arrested in Louisiana on April 18, 2017.

The victim: The victim was shot and killed weeks after her escape, according to U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.

“While on pretrial release facing serious federal charges, Capote kidnapped and sexually assaulted his then-girlfriend repeatedly before she escaped and ran to safety,” Hertzberg said. “The victim’s family deserved justice for her terrifying ordeal, especially after the victim was gunned down mere weeks after her rescue. I am grateful for the strong federal and local law enforcement partnerships throughout Georgia that led to Capote’s capture, charging, and conviction.”

By the numbers: Sentencing is set for July 22 at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash. Under federal law, kidnapping carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. If the victim was not released unharmed, a mandatory minimum of 20 years applies.

The path forward: Capote faces sentencing in July. The court will also have before it his earlier fraud and money laundering charges, which were filed before the kidnapping took place.