LAYTON, Utah — Layton Police officers were dispatched to a mobile home park after a woman called to say her son had been kidnapped.
On Sept. 9, the woman told police her son, described only as “KH” in a probable cause statement, had texted her to say he had been taken to a home at Mountain View Estates Mobile Home Park.
Upon arrival, officers made contact with multiple individuals inside the trailer, including KH.
KH appeared to be in distress and asked officers to put him in handcuffs and escort him off the property.
After exiting the trailer, KH told officers he had borrowed money from two individuals, 35 year-old Ely Burns and 27 year-old Tessa Maldonado, to support a controlled substance abuse habit.
KH told officers Burns and Maldonado forced him to share his location via the global positioning system (GPS) on his cellular phone so they could come and get their money.
KH did not have the money or pills he owed them, and was told to get inside their vehicle.
KH says Maldonado was in the front seat demanding to get the money as Burns sat in the backseat with a serrated machete across his lap, according to charging documents.
The three then went inside the trailer where Maldonado said KH owes her the money and/or the "pills", later meaning the counterfeit oxycodone they call "blues.”
When police arrived, the owner of the trailer, who allowed Burns and Maldonado inside,consented to a search of the home.
Burns and Maldonado were in the back bedroom of the home.
In that bedroom, officers found a long machete with a serrated back, in a black plastic "tactical" sheath wedged in between the dresser and wall, as if it had been hidden.
Both Maldonado and the trailer owner said they did not know Burns had a machete.
Officers then found a black and silver lockbox under the seat of the couch where Maldonado was sitting.
After being read her Miranda rights, Maldonado admitted the case was her “drug kit” and supplied the appropriate combination to open it.
In the case, officers found marijuana, a counterfeit blue oxycodone (30mg) pill, hypodermic needles, a glass pipe, a white crystal powder-like substance, and various baggies.
Maldonado was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping and several drug-related misdemeanors.
Burns was charged with first-degree aggravated kidnapping and a third-degree felony of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person.
Both Maldonado and Burns were ordered to be held without bail.
