Man faked own kidnapping to explain two-week absence from girlfriend

A Brooklyn man faked his own kidnapping because he was terrified of his lover’s wrath. Rahmell Pettway, 36, told police he spent two weeks away from his Bedford-Stuyvesant home and then staged the crime to explain his absence to his girlfriend.

But his poorly executed plan unravelled when the officers who found him hog-tied in the street noticed the roll of duct tape still dangling from his wrists. He eventually came clean, and was arrested for filing a false report. “He’s a total moron,” said one law-enforcement source. “It was a pathetic attempt to pull the wool [over] her eyes.”



Pettway was first discovered by a passerby at 1:10am on Thursday between two cars. His hands, legs and mouth were covered with duct tape and looked beaten up, complaining about pain in his ribs. Pettway, who also goes by the last name Wallace, was transported to Woodhull Hospital. He initially “couldn’t recall” what had happened, but later told police two men in a light-blue minivan abducted him on Feb. 19.

He claimed his captors covered his eyes and hauled him to parts unknown before dumping him weeks later. But authorities grew suspicious of his account, and Pettway soon confessed to the hoax, saying he had gone AWOL for a couple of weeks and was terrified of facing his significant other. Police say Pettway has 14 arrests, mainly for robbery, marijuana and assault.