Kansas City man is accused in gunpoint kidnapping and rape

Jackson County prosecutors on Thursday charged a 20-year-old Kansas City man with kidnapping a woman at gunpoint and taking her to an unknown location, where he and another man allegedly raped and sodomized her.

Omar Lopez-Maldonado also faces charges of sodomy, assault and tampering with a vehicle in the incident early Jan. 9 in the 1200 block of Fremont Avenue in Kansas City.

According to court records, the victim and a friend went to a residence on Fremont Avenue to drop off cigarettes for her friend’s brother-in-law.

The victim said she was tired and slightly intoxicated and decided to wait in the running vehicle while her friend took the cigarettes inside. The woman said she fell asleep, but she was awakened and noticed the front passenger door open with two men standing outside.

The men told the woman that her friend had asked them to drive her home. The victim later said she was reluctant to believe them, but the men got into the vehicle and drove her away. Both men wore dark clothing and made a concerted effort to hide their faces, according to court records.

The victim noticed one of the men was armed. The woman tried to get out of the car when she realized they were not taking her home. As she tried to get out, the driver grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back into the vehicle.

They then drove her to an unknown field and repeatedly raped her at gunpoint, court records said.

The men drove the woman back to 12th Street and Fremont Avenue, where her friend tried to intervene. The men fired several shots at the friend and sped away.

Lopez-Maldonado was later arrested after investigators connected him to the incident through telephone records. He denied knowing the victim or attacking her, according to court records.

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Kansas City man is accused in gunpoint kidnapping and rape."