Minneapolis man charged for kidnapping, assault and robbery

A Minneapolis man has been charged in the kidnapping, assault and robbery of a male victim after stealing his vehicle and holding him hostage, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Wednesday.

Desmond Graham, 31, faces kidnapping, first-degree aggravated robbery, third-degree assault, and financial transaction card fraud charges for carjacking, kidnapping, beating and stealing from the male victim.

Graham is scheduled to make his first appearance March 31 at 1:30 p.m.

According to the criminal complaint, on March 10, the male victim was in downtown Minneapolis to meet with a coworker, when he pulled over near light rail tracks to check on a strange noise in his vehicle. Upon getting out of his vehicle, Graham, and two other male accomplices—one identified as Larry Mosby—approached him, and forced him inside the backseat of his car.

Graham drove the carjacked vehicle with the victim inside to an abandoned gas station on the 3700 block of Chicago Ave. S. The victim was taken inside and held hostage as Graham, and the two accomplices demanded money from him, the complaint states.

When the victim told the men he didn’t have money, they beat him with various tools. The victim attempted to escape, but was unable to, as Graham and the other men bound him to a piece of furniture, the complaint says. The victim was further assaulted.

Fearing for his life, the victim provided the men with his bank account login information and debit card. Bank surveillance footage and records revealed $1,000 in cash was withdrawn at 1:24 a.m. on March 11 from the third male suspect, the complaint continues.

The male victim remained a hostage at the gas station so that additional money could be taken from his accounts. Additional funds were taken from the victim’s bank account by Graham at 2:48 a.m., which was captured by store and ATM surveillance footage, the complaint furthers.

The male victim was eventually unbound and forced back into his own vehicle so he could physically withdraw money at a bank for Graham and Mosby. He was told he would be freed after withdrawing cash, but was not allowed to leave, the complaint states.

While the victim remained kidnapped, he witnessed Graham and Mosby using drugs while driving. This ultimately led to Mosby passing out and being unable to be revived. Graham attempted to wake him up by beating Mosby, and when that did not resuscitate him, they drove back to the abandoned gas station, the complaint continues.

While inside the gas station, Mosby was lit on fire by Graham in an attempt to pull him from unconsciousness. When Mosby didn’t come to, Graham snuffed out the flames, and poured alcohol on his burns, the complaint says. Mosby was found dead by officers at the gas station.

Shortly thereafter, the victim was able to escape and run to a nearby grocery store as Graham chased after him. An employee at the store called 9-1-1 for the victim, and police arrived shortly after.

The male victim suffered numerous injuries.

During the investigation, the male victim was shown a photo lineup, and was able to identify Graham as being one of the men involved in the incident. Graham was found and arrested on March 28. When he was arrested, he was wearing the same jacket as seen in surveillance footage while he was withdrawing money from the victim’s account, the complaint continues.

Graham has prior felony convictions dating back to February 2010.

View the criminal complaint (PDF).