Oconee County Sheriff’s Office Arrests Westminster Man on Multiple Charges Related to Kidnapping Investigation

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Westminster man last Friday morning on multiple charges related to a kidnapping investigation.

29 year old Darion Deontre Wheeler of Harrys Drive has been charged with one count each of Kidnapping, Armed Robbery Armed with a Deadly Weapon, Possession of a Weapon during Commission of a Violent Crime, Grand Larceny and Assault and Battery – 3rd Degree.

A deputy with the Uniform Patrol Division spoke with the victim during the early afternoon hours of March 19th at an address on Wells Highway near Seneca. The victim told the deputy that he had entered a residence at an address on Humbert Street on the Utica Mill Hill earlier that morning, whereupon the victim said that his hands were tied behind his back and he was held at knife and hatchet point.

The victim said his personal belongings, which included cash, his wallet and jewelry, were taken. The victim was placed in the back seat of a Ford Crown Victoria. After reportedly driving to the Oakway area, the victim was released from the vehicle.

After being released, the victim told the deputy that he walked back to his residence, where he discovered that his vehicle was gone. The vehicle, a 2007 Saab, was located the next day on the Utica Mill Hill at F Street and E. Lonsdale Street.

The case was turned over to the Criminal Investigations Division. Based upon evidence that was gathered during the investigation, it was determined that Wheeler assaulted the victim by grabbing him from behind, forcing him into a room at the Humbert Street address and binding his wrists. Wheeler is also accused of unlawfully seizing and confining the victim, of being armed with a knife and hatchet, of stealing the personal belongings of the victim by use of threat or force and also stealing the victim’s vehicle.

Wheeler has also been charged with Furnishing Contraband into a Detention Facility after a quantity of narcotics was located inside his clothing inside the Oconee County Detention Center after his arrest.

A second suspect, 21 year old Olivia Shante Brooks of the Harrys Drive address in Westminster, was booked into the Oconee County Detention Center on March 25th on a charge of Accessory after the Fact of a Felony for her role in assisting Wheeler during the crime committed.

Brooks was released from the Oconee County Detention Center on March 26th on her own recognizance after receiving a $25,000 personal recognizance bond.

At this time, Wheeler remains in custody at the Oconee County Detention Center. Wheeler’s was denied bond on the Kidnapping and Armed Robbery Armed with a Deadly Weapon charges. He will appear before a Circuit Court Judge later regarding bond on those charges. Wheeler was given a combined $19,500.00 surety bond on the other four charges filed against him.