A Prince George’s County man is facing 14 criminal charges and 19 traffic charges. Maryland State Police accuse him of kidnapping a woman using a U-Haul and later crashing the vehicle.
Dennis Bell, 62, of Lanham, Maryland, was arrested Friday night during a felony traffic stop. MSP says that, in the midst of driving the U-Haul Friday morning, Mr. Bell made contact with an unnamed female victim at a convenience store on Minnesota Avenue in Southeast D.C.
The victim claimed to law enforcement that Mr. Bell pushed her into the U-Haul, threatening to kill her if she did not comply.
Mr. Bell is then accused of removing the victim’s clothing, stabbing her fingers with a pocket knife, and forcing her to sit on the floor of the passenger seat as he drove the rest of the day, so as to keep her out of sight and to keep her from seeing her surroundings.
Mr. Bell is also accused of possessing crack cocaine and driving while impaired.
At around 9:45 p.m., MSP troopers received calls from motorists, reporting a U-Haul driving erratically, as well as striking parked vehicles around the Princess Garden Parkway in Lanham.
While law enforcement found the U-Haul on Maryland Route 450 in Lanham, they attempted a traffic stop, but Mr. Bell did not comply. Then, law enforcement chased the U-Haul, the pursuit ending when the vehicle crashed into a ditch.
Mr. Bell refused to exit the vehicle, but troopers entered the vehicle through the passenger window, subsequently finding the woman on the floor. The woman was rescued from the vehicle, covered in a jacket, and sent to the hospital.
Mr. Bell was noncooperative and did not identify himself to law enforcement. He was initially arrested, and transported to the hospital as well, before being sent to the Upper Marlboro Department of Corrections.
Law enforcement has charged Mr. Bell with 19 unspecified traffic charges, as well as 14 criminal charges.
Those include counts of first-degree assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and fourth-degree sex offense, as well as the aforementioned impaired driving and crack possession charges.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.