Inside the Criminal Past of the Alleged Philadelphia Abductor

Delvin Barnes has allegedly abducted at least one other woman before.

ByABC News
November 6, 2014, 10:31 PM

— -- Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, the Philadelphia woman who was rescued Wednesday night, isn't the first woman that Delvin Barnes is accused of grabbing off a street and in one other case he allegedly showed his victim pictures of his earlier targets, police told ABC News.

Barnes, 37, was taken into custody on Wednesday night outside of his car in Jessup, Maryland, with Freeland-Gaither inside the vehicle, ending the woman's three day abduction ordeal. After being checked at a hospital, Freeland-Gaither was released to her family.

According to a federal arrest warrant released today, Barnes allegedly admitted to police that he didn't know the victim and that he went from Philadelphia to Maryland with her following the abduction. Police said late Thursday that Barnes was en route to Virginia to face charges there related to another case.

Since the arrest, more details have emerged about Barnes' extensive criminal history.

When FBI officers, U.S. Marshals and ATF agents took Barnes into custody Wednesday, they originally held him on an outstanding warrant from Charles City County, Virginia.

Charges in that case stemmed from an incident on Oct. 1 when a 16-year-old girl was reported missing from Richmond, Va., and was found a day and a half later.

PHOTO: Carlesha Freeland-Gaither was found safe inside the vehicle, pictured, after the suspect was apprehended when investigators tracked his car to Jessup, Maryland.
Carlesha Freeland-Gaither was found safe inside the vehicle, pictured, after the suspect was apprehended when investigators tracked his car to Jessup, Maryland.

The teenager, whose name has not been released because of her age and the nature of the crime, was reportedly in Barnes' hometown of Charles City County when she was kidnapped. Capt. Jason Crawley of the Charles City-County Sheriff's office told ABC News that the victim in that case did not know Barnes at the time of her abduction.

Police did not release details about the girl's kidnapping, but Crawley told ABC News that during her ordeal the teenager was shown photos Barnes claimed were pictures of other girls he allegedly claimed to have grabbed off the street. At this time, he has not been charged with attacking other women, but Crawley said he hopes that any other possible victims will come forward after seeing that he has been apprehended.

The charges against Barnes stemming from the October attack include attempted capital murder, abduction, forcible rape and malicious wounding using a chemical agent.

Police in Charles City County were able to connect the October case to the snatching of Freeland-Gaither when Philadelphia police released information about the suspect, noting he was driving a Ford Taurus and that the vehicle had a sticker in the bottom center of the windshield, which is where Virginia state inspection stickers are normally placed.

PHOTO: Delvin Barnes, 37, was arrested in connection for the alleged abduction of 22-year-old Carlesha Freeland-Gaither.
Delvin Barnes, 37, was arrested in connection for the alleged abduction of 22-year-old Carlesha Freeland-Gaither.

Crawley told ABC News that they already had information that Barnes was driving a Ford Taurus at the time of the October abduction, and Charles City-County police then called the car dealership where Barnes purchased his car and used the GPS installed in his vehicle to help the FBI track him to Maryland.

Barnes has a lengthy criminal record that appears to include one other kidnapping in November 2005. Details of the case were not immediately available, but he was charged by Philadelphia police with multiple counts of aggravated, sexual and simple assault, as well as two counts of reckless endangerment of another person and false imprisonment, two charges that are commonly associated with kidnappings.

Barnes has lived in Virginia and Pennsylvania and has criminal records in both states, according to public records. In addition to misdemeanors and a bevy of traffic violations, he was found guilty of a felony robbery with a firearm in August 2001 in Richmond.

Law enforcement sources have told ABC News that Barnes is now in Baltimore County Jail, after originally being taken in by the FBI and interviewed in their Baltimore field office immediately following his capture Wednesday evening.

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