2 perps face kidnapping charges after Burton man was snatched, pistol-whipped inside car
Two Beaufort men have been charged with kidnapping of a Burton man, allegedly forcing him from his girlfriend’s home into the back of a car where he was pistol-whipped and held against his will for “several hours,” according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
24-year-old Ishmael Rivers was charged July 15, just days after the incident. 34-year-old Darrell Milledge was arrested early Wednesday morning. Both men have been charged with kidnapping and felony weapons possession. Authorities added a charge of felony assault and battery for Milledge.
In the early morning hours of July 14, the victim was taken by force by four armed men from a residence on Roundabout Loop off Burton’s Joe Frazier Road, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Maj. Angela Viens. Two remaining unidentified assailants have yet to be charged.
While the motive remains unclear, signs point investigators to the source of the dispute being an unpaid debt. Inside the car, the man was beaten and pistol-whipped for hours while his kidnappers demanded money, Viens said, but investigators would not confirm specific details about the attack’s motive.
Rivers was released on a $100,000 bond on July 15, the same day as his arrest, while Milledge remains in custody at the Beaufort County jail on a $110,000 bond.
The two other men involved in the incident are still unknown to police and have not yet been charged. The case is still under investigation by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
