[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nchorage police responded to the Barret Inn on Spenard Road at 3:18 pm on Wednesday after receiving a report of a possible kidnapping and robbery that occurred there. An investigation was opened at the scene after talking with the hotel’s manager.

The manager told APD that he had gone to a room at the hotel that was rented by 26-year-old Jourdan Avila and found that he wasn’t in the room, but that several people not registered to the room were smoking marijuana. He evicted all the people in the room but was then later contacted by one of those evicted who claimed that he had been a kidnapping victim.

The investigation discovered that the victim had been sitting in his vehicle in the Barrett Inn’s parking lot when two men, one armed with a firearm forced him into the back seat of his vehicle. The suspects drove around for a while with the kidnapping victim before going back to the room.

At the room, the victim told police, he was forced to write out and sign a bill of sale for his vehicle to Avila. After receiving the allegedly coerced bill of sale, Avila left the room leaving the kidnapping victim with two others in the room where they began smoking marijuana. Initial indications showed that the victim willingly stayed behind.

When police arrived at the hotel at 3:18 pm, multiple persons scattered from the hotel and a vehicle in the parking lot. One of those that ran was caught on the northwest side of the parking lot. That person, identified as 36-year-old Travis M. Smith. When apprehended, Smith was uncooperative and had to be taken to ground in order to handcuff him. He was remanded for violating his conditions of release in a previous case and resisting arrest.

A second man who attempted to flee from police was identified as 32-year-old Conrad L. Stephens, he was apprehended on the 3000-block of West 42nd Street after he ran from officers shedding clothing as he went. He was found to bethe subjet of a felony and misdemeanor warrant. He was additionally charged with violating his conditions of release and resisting arrest. He too was remanded to the Anchorage Jail.

While officers were at the scene, Avila drove back to the hotel in the victim’s vehicle and was taken into custody. He would be ultimately be taken to the department for questioning which resulted in him being charged with Kidnapping, Robbery I, Assault III and Theft II x2. He was also remanded to jail.

APD requested and was granted search warrants for two rooms at the hotel and one vehicle. When a search was conducted in one of the hotel’s rooms, multiple firearms were discovered and taken into evidence and Marcus W. Jones, age 47 was contacted. He would not initially reveal his identity until he was convinced to do so by another person in the room. He was detained and questioned, after which he was remanded on charges of False Information and Violating Conditions of Release. He was also found to have three assault/forgery/false info-related warrants.

A search of another room would result in contact with a woman who initially gave a false identity but revealed her name as 33-year-old Jenna L. Noriega after being warned she was being charged with false information. She was found to have an outstanding warrant in a drug/weapons-related case.

The two individuals found in the room with the victim have not been identified.

Police did not indicate whether any of those arrested in this case had any involvement in the shooting  that occurred at the hotel earlier in the day.

  assault, barrett inn, conrad stephens, false info, jenna noriega, jourdan avila, kidnapping, marcus jones, theft, travis smith