JOHNSONBURG — A Reading man has been charged in Elk County with abducting a woman off Ridgway’s Main Street and holding her inside a nearby apartment — at gunpoint — for a matter of hours.
Dayon Deche McCracken, 23, of 224 Chapel Terrace, Reading, is charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping and illegal possession of a firearm, all felonies, and making terroristic threats and false imprisonment, misdemeanors, in connection with the April 27 abduction of a young woman outside Jordan’s Bar and Grill on Main Street.
The woman identified by police only as Rachael Imdorf told officers that she had been patronizing the bar and grill establishment at 169 Main St. in Ridgway on Sunday. Upon leaving for the night, she reportedly slipped into a vehicle parked outside that she claimed to have mistaken for her own.
An affidavit of probable cause filed in the case says Imdorf woke to McCracken knocking on the window and asking Imdorf why she was inside his girlfriend’s vehicle. McCracken’s girlfriend is not directly identified in police reports.
Imdorf said she claimed to remember virtually nothing, believing she had been drugged the night before.
McCracken is then alleged to have pulled her into an apartment at 167 Main St., and held her there at gunpoint. After nearly two-and-a-half hours the ordeal ended with Imdorf being allowed to leave.
A witness told police they saw a woman believed to be Imdorf being brought into the apartment against her will. A second witness said McCracken had been seen pulling the victim off the street by her jacket, striking her and leading her to the apartment above the bar.
According to the affidavit, the second witness said, “Dayon (McCracken) told (the victim) that he wouldn’t hesitate to keep her there and make sure that she didn’t make it home.” The witness alleges McCracken also pointed a firearm in the victim’s face.
A police search of the apartment reportedly uncovered a Powerline Daisy .177 caliber air rifle.
The investigation began around 8 a.m. April 27 with an occupant of the apartment and owner of the vehicle calling police after finding Imdorf asleep inside the van parked outside on Main Street.
The caller identified as Angel Phinazee said she took Imdorf up to her 167 Main St. Apt. 2C apartment in an attempt to get information.
As officers spoke with Phinazee, Imdorf showed up at Ridgway Borough police station claiming to have been held hostage at gunpoint inside the apartment.
No additional charges have been field in connection with the incident.
A preliminary hearing for McCracken is set for 10:30 a.m. May 7 in Johnsonburg District Court.
McCracken remains confined to Elk County Prison in Ridgway on $50,000 cash bail.
