A Wasilla Police Department Officer uncovered much more serious crimes when stopping a Ford Explorer for faulty headlights during the early morning hours of Sunday.

The officer found four individuals in the vehicle that he had stopped on the Parks Highway near Lucille Street. In the vehicle was 24-year-old Anchorage resident Arthur Gray, and 19-year-old Benjamin Lega, also of Anchorage, along with two unidentified victims.

The investigation of the subjects in the vehicle would find that Lega and Gray had abducted the two other occupants from their homes. One of the victims, a female, was handcuffed in the back seat of the vehicle, while the other was forced to drive the vehicle at gunpoint.It was when the driver was ordered out of the car, that he told the officer that they were being kidnapped.

Alaska State Troopers responded to the scene of the vehicle stop and took Gray and Lega into custody and transported them to Mat-Su West.

The Alaska Bureau of Investigation also responded to the scene and took over investigation of the incident.

The female victim told authorities that the two men, Lega and Gray had come to her home on Big Lake Road, and while holding her at gunpoint, ransacked the home looking for money and drugs. During their rummaging, they found prescription medications, two firearms, cash and marijuana.

While the home invasion was taking place, according to the female victim, her boyfriend showed up at her home.

The two men took him at gunpoint as well. After they were finished going through the female’s home, the two took the victims next door to the boyfriend’s home. There, Lega and Gray took his ATM card, cash, and the man’s TV.

After exhausting their criminal search of the two victim’s homes, the two kidnappers hit the road with the two victims in tow.

The kidnappers went on a search for ATMs to withdraw cash with the victim’s ATM cards. Gray and Lega would try two ATMs unsuccessfully with one of the ATM cards. They would eventually gain access with another of the victim’s cards and withdraw an undeclared amount of cash.

It was after this that the vehicle with the kidnappers and victims was pulled over.

Gray and Lega, both Felons on probation, were remanded to Mat-Su Pretrial and each of them charged with Kidnapping, Robbery x2, Assault III x2,Theft IV x4, Burglary x2, and Vehicle Theft I. Lega was also charged with an additional count of Providing False Information to a Police Officer.

Gray is ordered held on a $500,000 cash only bail and Court Approved Third Party. Lega is ordered held without bail. They are being arraigned today.