As of 3:30 pm, Sunday, April 14, 2024, the Guam Police Department has confirmed both suspects self surrendered and are in police custody.
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Original story:
A man and a woman are wanted by police after allegedly kidnapping a man who managed to escape from them.
Guam Police Department officers say Noah Cepeda and Aja Lujan, both 25, kidnapped a man yesterday afternoon into a 2018 gray Toyota Corolla (license plate BR5494).
“The victim attempted to escape however, Cepeda brandished a firearm and restrained the victim,” a GPD news release states.
An undisclosed time later, the car – being driven by Ms. Lujan – stopped at a gas station in Barrigada, where the victim was able to escape to the assistance of an off-duty police officer.
“Despite the officer’s immediate response, the suspects fled the scene, heading southbound on Route 10 towards Mangilao,” the GPD news release states. “Fortunately, the victim remains secure and unharmed.”
If you have any information on the whereabouts of Mr. Cepeda and Ms. Lujan, please call GPD immediately at 475-8615 through -8617.
“Any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could be vital to the ongoing investigation,” the GPD release states.
“Catch, release, reoffend”
Mr. Cepeda has a lengthy criminal history of violence. In February 2020, he was charged with brutally beating and strangling his girlfriend. Later that year, on September 29, 2020, Mr. Cepeda was involved in a Tamuning shooting. Early the following year he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault in that case.
Kandit’s archives of headcounts from the Department of Corrections over the years show Mr. Cepeda was remanded to DOC custody on October 7, 2020 and stayed there until February 11, 2021, when Judge Vernon Perez ordered his conditional release in the strangulation case.
According to a January 2024 report by the attorney general, Douglas Moylan, on October 18, 2023, a judge issued a bench warrant for Mr. Cepeda’s arrest after he failed to appear for a court hearing. He was one of dozens of criminal defendants in the January 2024 report who allegedly committed new crimes or violated conditions of their release. Mr. Moylan has called for better judicial discretion against the release of repeat violent and drug offenders.
“Legislative reform is needed to protect our law-abiding citizens from continuing to become crime victims,” he added in the report.
