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A veteran police officer working for the New York Police Department has been suspended after a man was found tied up in his garage.
The man was found bound and gagged at the Queens home of Ondre Johnson, who has worked for the Brooklyn North gang unit for 17 years.
Investigators had been tipped off that a man was being held at the home - which he shares with a cousin - for a $75,000 ransom, the sources said.
Scene: Police swooped on the home of NYPD officer Ondre Johnson, pictured, and found a man bound and gagged inside the garage
Scene: Police swooped on the home of NYPD officer Ondre Johnson, pictured, and found a man bound and gagged inside the garage
The 45-year-old detective was suspended without pay and stripped of his gun and badge, NBC 4 reported.
Police went to the home after tracking a cell phone the kidnappers used to call the victim's friend to demand the money, sources told the Daily News.
Johnson was about to leave the home when detectives approached the home and was taken into custody after identifying himself as an officer.
Inside the garage, police found a 25-year-old man tied up, and inside the home, they found two safes containing materials to make fake credit cards, including printing presses and unmarked plastic cards.
Captive: Johnson, who lives at the address with a cousin, said he never uses the garage, pictured, and had no knowledge of the man
Captive: Johnson, who lives at the address with a cousin, said he never uses the garage, pictured, and had no knowledge of the man
Johnson told police he lived in one apartment in the two-story house and a cousin, 30-year-old Hakeem Clark, lived in the other apartment.
Johnson denied any knowledge of the materials, which were found in Clark's apartment, police said.
He added to authorities that he never used the garage, which is detached from the house at the end of a short driveway.
Four men inside the house were taken into police custody, including Clark.
He was later charged with kidnapping, attempting to collect ransom and criminal possession of a weapon.
Veteran: Johnson has worked at a gang unit in Brooklyn for 17 years
Veteran: Johnson has worked at a gang unit in Brooklyn for 17 years. He has now been suspended and forced to hand in his gun and badge
James Gayle and Jason Hutson, both 27, also face the same charges.
Another suspect, Alferdo Haughton, 24, was charged with kidnapping.
A police official told the New York Times that investigators decided they did not have enough evidence to arrest Johnson.
'A decision was made last night not to lock him up,' the official said. 'What you have is an enormous amount of suspicion, but not the hard evidence tying him into it.'
The man was found bound and gagged at the Queens home of Ondre Johnson, who has worked for the Brooklyn North gang unit for 17 years.
Investigators had been tipped off that a man was being held at the home - which he shares with a cousin - for a $75,000 ransom, the sources said.
Scene: Police swooped on the home of NYPD officer Ondre Johnson, pictured, and found a man bound and gagged inside the garage
Scene: Police swooped on the home of NYPD officer Ondre Johnson, pictured, and found a man bound and gagged inside the garage
The 45-year-old detective was suspended without pay and stripped of his gun and badge, NBC 4 reported.
Police went to the home after tracking a cell phone the kidnappers used to call the victim's friend to demand the money, sources told the Daily News.
Johnson was about to leave the home when detectives approached the home and was taken into custody after identifying himself as an officer.
Inside the garage, police found a 25-year-old man tied up, and inside the home, they found two safes containing materials to make fake credit cards, including printing presses and unmarked plastic cards.
Captive: Johnson, who lives at the address with a cousin, said he never uses the garage, pictured, and had no knowledge of the man
Captive: Johnson, who lives at the address with a cousin, said he never uses the garage, pictured, and had no knowledge of the man
Johnson told police he lived in one apartment in the two-story house and a cousin, 30-year-old Hakeem Clark, lived in the other apartment.
Johnson denied any knowledge of the materials, which were found in Clark's apartment, police said.
He added to authorities that he never used the garage, which is detached from the house at the end of a short driveway.
Four men inside the house were taken into police custody, including Clark.
He was later charged with kidnapping, attempting to collect ransom and criminal possession of a weapon.
Veteran: Johnson has worked at a gang unit in Brooklyn for 17 years
Veteran: Johnson has worked at a gang unit in Brooklyn for 17 years. He has now been suspended and forced to hand in his gun and badge
James Gayle and Jason Hutson, both 27, also face the same charges.
Another suspect, Alferdo Haughton, 24, was charged with kidnapping.
A police official told the New York Times that investigators decided they did not have enough evidence to arrest Johnson.
'A decision was made last night not to lock him up,' the official said. 'What you have is an enormous amount of suspicion, but not the hard evidence tying him into it.'
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