Inset: Pao Yang (Ramsey County Adult Detention Center). Background: The dental office in Roseville, Minnesota, where authorities say the kidnapping took place (Google Maps).
A man used his knowledge of a dental office where he worked to kidnap one of its employees before attacking and threatening her, according to law enforcement in Minnesota.
Pao Yang, 41, faces charges including kidnapping to commit great bodily harm or terrorize, kidnapping to facilitate a felony or flight, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, first-degree aggravated robbery, and first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Records show that he was arrested and booked in the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center.
On Wednesday at about 5 p.m., a 27-year-old woman was leaving her job at a dental office in Roseville, Minnesota, a city just northeast of Minneapolis. Unbeknownst to her, a Ring camera on the building had been tilted upward so it no longer faced the parking lot, it had its cord cut, and someone was allegedly lying in wait.
The woman was “confronted by a man dressed in a black mask” and gloves and holding a black gun, per a statement of probable cause filed in the case. The man — alleged to be Yang — told her he needed her car, and he ordered her to walk to some nearby woods, where he wrapped tape around her face, zip-tied her hands, and took her phone and wallet.
About 15 minutes later, Yang reportedly forced the woman into a vehicle and drove for over an hour to a warehouse, where he allegedly sexually assaulted her. The man said he was “just doing his job” and stated he was going to bring the woman to “people who would decide what to do with her,” the court document states.
Yang then drove the victim to a location where he forced her to shower and put on a dress that he had bought that day, law enforcement said. The suspect then drove her to a new location and told her he “liked killing women” and said he had killed women in Morocco, per the statement of probable cause.
The man also allegedly said he took a photo of the victim’s ID, told her he “knew where her family lived, and he would kill them if she called police.” He reportedly added that he had “recorded the rape and sent the video to ‘his people’ who would post it on social media.”
When Yang got near a golf course, he “let” the victim out of the vehicle and told her to walk while looking down, the probable cause statement said.
The woman stopped at a gas station, and people there helped her. She was taken to a hospital, and the next day, police met her at her workplace, where they went over what happened.
Police realized the Ring camera outside the office had been tampered with, and on Friday, the woman helped investigators make a key break in the case. She sent them a screenshot of the dress that the suspect made her wear, and it was determined that the dress came from Target.
Employees of the specific Target store helped police identify that the dress was bought at about 9:50 p.m. on the night of the attack. Surveillance video showed that Yang’s “distinctive gait and balding hairline were apparent,” authorities said.
When investigators spoke with another employee of the dental office and showed the employee the Target video, the staff member realized the person was Yang, “the office cleaner.” Police reviewed surveillance video of the office and determined Yang was the suspect.
A phone connected to Yang was present at the dental office at the time of the abduction, in the area where the woman’s stolen vehicle was found, and at the Target when the dress was bought. Authorities arrested Yang on Friday night.
Police searched his home and reportedly found black disposable face masks, black nitrile gloves, a Kimber 9 mm handgun, a Glock 19 handgun, an AR-style rifle, and orange zip ties.
Yang told investigators that he worked as a cleaner at five different businesses, “including a dental office in Roseville,” according to the statement of probable cause. Though he initially said he was home on the night in question, when investigators said they knew he was at an area Target and showed him a photo, he allegedly said “he bought a shirt there for his daughter.”
Police responded by saying “he had not purchased a shirt but a brown dress,” and Yang asked for a lawyer.
Yang is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on Oct. 2.
