WICHITA, Kan. — The 24-year-old Texas man jailed in Harvey County for an alleged kidnapping incident that apparently started in Austin, Texas now faces a kidnapping charge in federal court.
The complaint against 24-year-old Joseph Andrew Derusse was filed in federal court in Wichita on Monday and alleges that on Jan. 23, he kidnapped the victim and intended to force her to spend three weeks at a bed and breakfast in Narka, Kansas. They say his plan was to convince her to marry him. He’s accused of abducting her at gun point in Austin, handcuffed and blindfolded her before driving from Austin to Newton. It wasn’t until later that she learned the weapon was actually a BB gun.
Harvey County law enforcement had been told that the suspect and victim were traveling northbound on I-135. Apparently the vehicle was being tracked with GPS and officers were receiving updates on their location. A Newton Police officer spotted the vehicle and with the help of the Harvey County Sheriff’s Office and Hesston Police, they made the stop. In the car, they found an engagement ring DeRusse had purchased.
The abduction occurring around 6:50 p.m. Thursday evening in Austin.
All the activity in Newton happened just before 5 a.m. Friday morning and with the federal charges filed, the case moves to federal court.
If convicted on the federal charge, he could receive life in federal prison.