Police detail kidnap case that ended in Schenectady

PHOTOGRAPHER: Steven Cook

A woman found beaten in Schenectady last week was brought here by her captors to avoid police in Troy, police said Tuesday.

She was held in a car trunk and is believed to have freed herself in Schenectady by using a latch in the trunk designed for such situations.

The woman, police now believe, was abducted off the street in Albany in retaliation for her brother taking a safe, authorities said.

Her alleged abductor, identified as 23-year-old Thomas White, was arrested and charged Monday with first-degree kidnapping.

The woman’s brother, Branson J. Scott, 23, of 230 Elk St., Albany, was also charged, accused of taking White’s safe in a home invasion May 27 in Troy and firing at White early the next morning in an alleged attempt to get his sister back.

While she was held, the woman was beaten and cut and bleach, salt and hot sauce were rubbed into her wounds, Troy Police Detective Sgt. David Dean said.

She broke out of a van but was soon recaptured and placed in the car trunk. It was in Schenectady at about 8 a.m. May 28 that she took the chance to use the trunk latch and escape. She flagged down a passer-by, who took her to the hospital.

White is believed to have taken the woman to Schenectady after the shots were fired in Troy, Dean said. White had associates in Schenectady.

Schenectady Police used information from the woman to track down the car she escaped from and the van. Three women seen in the van were taken into custody for questioning a short time later. The women, who have not been charged, are believed to be associates of White, Dean said.

Scott also faces a host of counts in Troy, including three counts of second-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree burglary, one count of first-degree robbery and second-degree assault, along with other charges.

The investigation is continuing.