2 more arrests made in October Midlothian kidnapping

MIDLOTHIAN –  Investigators at the Midlothian Police Department have arrested two additional suspects in relation to the Oct. 9 robbery/kidnapping that took place in the 5000 Block of Vernon Point in Midlothian.

Jeffrey Stayns Fernando, 22, of Plano and Akash Tyagi, 22, of Frisco were taken into custody on charges of two counts each of aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon, two counts each of aggravated robbery, and one count each of engaging in organized criminal activity with a deadly weapon.

Several weeks ago, Midlothian Police arrested Noah Solomon Gulzar, 20 on two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity with a deadly weapon, and fraudulent use or possession of identifying information – elderly individual.

The incident began Monday, Oct. 9, when the Northern Ellis Emergency Dispatch Center was contacted by the DeSoto Police Department and informed of a possible kidnapping that may have occurred in the city. Officers from the Midlothian Police Department responded to the alleged location of the incident, as well as a location in DeSoto to meet with their officers and the victims. 

The outcome of this investigation at that time was on the evening of Oct, 9, three male suspects arrived at the victims’ home in the 5000 Block of Vernon Point in Midlothian. 

All were armed, and it was known now that one of the suspects was an acquaintance of the victims from a prior business venture. 

The victims, whose names were not released, were a 72-year-old male and a 68-year-old female.

The suspects held the two victims at gunpoint and took them to an Airbnb rental house in DeSoto. The victims were tied up, and the suspects attempted to gain access to their online bank accounts.

After several hours two of the suspects left the location in DeSoto. 

The victims were able to free themselves from their restraints, took a knife from the kitchen and overpowered the remaining suspect at the house. The victims then fled from the home to a neighboring residence where they called 911. The remaining suspect fled from the DeSoto home before officers arrived.

“I am proud of the hard work from our officers on this case. Starting with the patrol officers that first arrived at the scene of the crime,” Midlothian Assistant Police Chief Scott Brown said. “They did a tremendous job of gathering facts and evidence. Then the detectives worked tirelessly and followed clues all over North Texas to obtain the information we needed for the warrants. Fortunately, we do not have many crimes of this magnitude in our community. So, the fact that they were able to quickly identify all three suspects and make timely arrests was important for our citizens to feel safe in their homes.”