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Central VA man to be sentenced Thursday in Philadelphia abduction

Posted at 6:56 AM, Jun 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-30 07:03:16-04

PHILADELPHIA — Charles City County man who became the target of a massive manhunt after he abducted a Philadelphia woman is set to learn his fate Thursday.

Delvin Barnes will be sentenced at 1:15pm in a Philadelphia courtroom.

In September 2015, Barnes plead guilty in the U.S. District Court to abducting a Philadelphia woman.  Carlesha Freeland-Gaither’s abduction on November 2, 2014 was captured on a surveillance video in Philadelphia and sparked a manhunt involving the FBI, Philadelphia police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

Freeland-Gaither, 22, was found in Jessup, Maryland on November 5, 2014. Barnes was arrested that same day after police tracked him down using his car’s GPS device.

Barnes forced the victim to lie bound and cold in the trunk of his car as he drove from Philadelphia to Maryland, court documents said. When he was arrested in Maryland, he was in the back seat of his car, lying next to the victim.

In Charles City County, Barnes was accused of abducting and raping a 16-year-old Richmond girl back in 2014. Charles City County prosecutors opted to set aside, or in legal terms nolle prosse, charges against Barnes in 2015. However, officials pointed out that those charges could be reinstated in the future.

Barnes had been charged with abduction, forcible rape, malicious wounding with a chemical and other charges.

The 16-year-old managed to escape after two days, walking two miles, naked and burned, into a business to seek help.