(WSLS10) Roanoke, VA — Call it role reversal.  Four men, who federal agents say planned to hold two women for ransom, are locked up tight in the Roanoke City Jail.
Mohammed Guhad, age 19,  is a Somali citizen and Patrick Henry High School student. Joshua Kasongo, age 19, a Roanoke County firefighter is originally from Rwanda.
Luke Elbino, age 19, is a citizen of Sudan and enrolled at Virginia Western. Anthony Muse, age 18, is from Roanoke and is also a student at PH. The first three were arrested by Roanoke County police April 6, for trying to force their way into a home.  Guhad, was arrested by the feds May 1.

Court records claim the men “intended to kidnap the woman” who lives there and their next target was the “wife of a local business owner” Kasongo and Elbino came face to face with agents Friday morning. 

“They were asked to come in to report to their probation officer and that’s where they were arrested.“, says prosecutor Tom Bondurant. Muse was arrested at Patrick Henry High School, where he’s a student.  Prosecutors say he wasn’t one of the men who went knocking on that door in Roanoke County but they say he was set to play a major role once those three other men got their victims in their hands.

“He was the one who had access to an abandoned trailer out in Roanoke County, a rural section of Roanoke County in which the kidnap victims were to be held pending the payment of ransom.“, says Bondurant.  “He also had a gun they originally were going to use in the kidnapping and decided not to.“Four men in federal custody, fortunately no women were ever in theirs.

The three men who are citizens of other countries are also legal, permanent residents of the United States.All four are charged with kidnapping conspiracy and attempted kidnapping.

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1:08 p.m.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Statement

United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley announced today that Joshua KASONGO of
Roanoke (age 19), Mohamed Hussein GUHAD of Roanoke (age 19), Luke Musa ELBINO of Vinton
(age 19) and Anthony Eugene MUSE of Roanoke (age 18), were indicted by a federal Grand Jury
sitting in Roanoke, Virginia on May 7, 2009. Guhad was taken into custody by the FBI on May
1, 2009 and the other three defendants were arrested this morning without incident.

All four defendants were charged in a two count indictment with Kidnaping Conspiracy
and Attempted Kidnaping. If convicted on both counts, the maximum penalty faced by the
defendants is Life imprisonment and/or a fine of $500,000.

It is charged in the Indictment that KASONGO, GUHAD and ELBINO met to devise
a scheme to kidnap the wives of wealthy men to hold for ransom. It was decided that
KASONGO would plan the kidnapings and conduct the negotiations for ransom. It was decided
that GUHAD would find a location to confine and secrete the kidnaped victims until the
payment of ransom, and that GUHAD would obtain the implements necessary for the actual
kidnapings, including but not limited to duct tape, rope, gloves, disguises and handcuffs. It was
decided that ELBINO would use his laptop computer to identify and research potential targets
for the kidnaping scheme.

GUHAD recruited MUSE to provide a location to secrete and confine the kidnap victims
until the ransom was paid. MUSE agreed to provide an unoccupied trailer in a secluded area
of Roanoke County for this purpose.

It is further charged in the Indictment that the Defendants would drive through wealthy
Roanoke County neighborhoods and identify residences they felt housed wealthy occupants
who could afford paying substantial ransoms. The Defendants then accessed the Internet to
research the intended targets of the kidnaping scheme. This research included personal
information of the intended victims (home value, employment, car ownership, phone numbers,
associations with economically viable organizations, etc.) and locations of and directions to the
personal residences of the intended victims. From this process, the defendants identified two
targets.

On April 6, 2009, the defendants attempted to kidnap one of the targets but was rebuffed
when the intended victim slammed the door on one of the defendant’s arms as they attempted
to invade the house. KANSONGO, GUHAD and ELBINO were arrested on state Attempted
Breaking and Entering charges and released on bond.

GUHAD is a U.S. Legal Permanent Resident and a citizen of Somolia; ELBINO is a U.S.
Legal Permanent Resident and a citizen of Sudan; KASONGO is a U.S. Legal Permanent
Resident and a citizen of Rwanda; and, MUSE is a U.S. citizen. GUHAD and MUSE are
students at Patrick Henry High School; ELBINO is a student at Virginia Western Community
College; and, KASONGO’s employment and/or academic activities are unknown.
The investigation of the case was conducted by Special Agent Scott Mayne for the
Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent Johnny Blais for the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and, Detective Betsy Hook for the Roanoke County Police
Department. Criminal Chief Thomas J. Bondurant, Jr., and Assistant United States Attorney
Charlene Day will prosecute the case. For further information, please contact Mr. Bondurant
at (540) 857-2379.

A Grand Jury indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is
entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable
doubt.

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Updated 12:44 p.m.
Three men arrested Friday morning on federal attempted kidnapping charges make their first court appearance.

Joshua Kasongo, Luke Elbino, Anthony Boyd-Muse will be held at the Roanoke City Jail.  Elbino has already hired an attorney.  Attorneys will be appointed for Kasongo and Boyd-Muse.

Boyd-Muse was arrested at Patrick Henry High School where he is a student.  Prosecutors say he had access to the trailer the men were going to use to hide their victims.

Elbino and Kasongo were asked to report to their probation officers, where they were arrested.

The fourth man agents say is involved in this case, Mohammed Guhad was arrested May 1.  He’s also being held at the Roanoke City Jail.

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9:23 a.m.

The FBI arrests three more men for attempted kidnapping.

Joshua Kasongo, Luke Elbino and Anthony Boyd-Muse were taken into custody Friday morning.  A fourth man Mohammed Guhad had already been charged federally.

Kasongo, Elbino and Guhad had been arrested April 6 by Roanoke County Police.  Police say they tried to force their way into a home.

Federal court records have since shown Guhad said the three men planned to kidnap the woman who lived at the home, because her husband is a wealthy dentist.  The papers also state Guhad said they had picked their next target, the wife of a local business owner.

Stay with WSLS.com for more on this developing story and tune in to WSLS 10 On Your Side at Noon.

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