'Brooklyn man fakes his own kidnapping to explain two-week absence to girlfriend'

Brooklyn man fakes his own kidnapping to explain two-week absence to girlfriend

By JAMIE SCHRAM Police Bureau Chief
Last Updated: 8:55 AM, March 3, 2013
Posted: 1:01 AM, March 3, 2013

A Brooklyn man faked his own kidnapping because he was terrified of his lover’s wrath.

Rahmell Pettway, 36, told cops he spent two weeks away from his Bedford-Stuyvesant home — and then staged the crime to explain his absence to his girlfriend.

But his poorly executed plan unraveled when the cops who found him hog-tied in the street noticed the roll of duct tape still dangling from his wrists.

He eventually came clean, and was arrested for filing a false report.

“He’s a total moron,” said one law-enforcement source. “It was a pathetic attempt to pull the wool [over] her eyes.”

Pettway was first discovered by a passerby at 1:10 a.m. Thursday between two cars on Macon Street.

His hands, legs and mouth were covered with duct tape and the rogue Romeo looked beaten up, complaining about pain in his ribs.

Pettway, who also goes by the last name Wallace, was transported to Woodhull Hospital.

He initially “couldn’t recall” what had happened, but later told police two men in a light-blue minivan abducted him on Feb. 19 near Bainbridge Street and Reid Avenue.

He claimed his captors covered his eyes and hauled him to parts unknown before dumping him on Macon Street near Malcolm X Boulevard weeks later.

But authorities grew suspicious of his account, and Pettway soon confessed to the hoax, saying he had gone AWOL for a couple of weeks and was terrified of facing his significant other.

Residents said about 10 cops patrolled and taped off the area a day after the faker was first found.

“The officers were asking him, ‘Are you OK? Are you OK?’ ” said Lisa, 29, who lives across the street from the bogus scene, and who was shocked to hear his kidnapping was all a maneuver to avoid the woman in his life.

“That’s something very sick,” she said. “Just be a man and face the consequence.”

Another resident scoffed at his elaborate crock.

“He did that just so he wouldn’t get caught by his girl? The lengths people will go not to tell the truth.”

Police say Pettway has 14 arrests, mainly for robbery, marijuana and assault.