Kidnapping charges have been filed against two Alabama men accused in the abduction of two women who were bound and driven to Guntersville where the suspects allegedly tried to rob a jewelry store.
Jonathan Banks, 41, of Guntersville, and Andre Burgin, 42, of Midfield, are charged with first-degree kidnapping in connection with the March 28 incident that began in Brighton.
Additionally, Burgin is charged with theft of property in connection with women’s stolen van.
Both men were captured one week ago today after
The charges were announced Friday by Brighton police Lt. Kenneth Hooten, who is also the city’s assistant fire chief. Burgin’s bond is set at $90,000 and Banks’ bond is set at $60,000.
when 33-year-old Alma Nestor and 29-year-old Rosaneli Castro were parked in the 4500 block of Bessemer Super Highway. They sell water and tamales there to workers headed out to jobs in the early-morning hours.
Two men approached the van, forced the women inside and left with them. The abduction was captured on surveillance cameras.
Hooten said the victims did not know their abductors.
The assailants used zip ties to bind the women’s hands and shackled their legs with chains, Hooten said.
Guntersville police investigate a robbery with shots fired at Griffin Jewelers on March 28, 2024.(Guntersville Police Department)
With the women held captive in the back of their own van, the suspects drove them to Guntersville where they allegedly tried to rob a jewelry store.
About 30 minutes before the women were released unharmed, Guntersville police responded to an armed robbery call at Giffin’s Jewelers.
Three people entered the store in a holdup attempt. The manager fired shots at them, and they fled in the white van.
Authorities have not identified the third suspect.
A short time later, Guntersville police said they received a call of two missing women who were at Lowes.
The van – a 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan with Alabama license plate A0BUUP – was at Lowes with the women. It matched the van used in the jewelry store robbery.
Hooten said the suspects left the women and their van in a wooded area. They were able to cut the zip ties with a sharp object in the van, and then cut the chains on their legs.
They then drove themselves to Lowes to seek help.
Authorities have not said how they identified Banks and Burgin as suspects, but both have previously been arrested in Marshall County.
The were taken into custody a day after the abduction and the robbery after Guntersville police contacted the FBI in Birmingham after learning the suspects could be in that area.
Late Friday afternoon, March 29, FBI agents and Guntersville police descended at an apartment complex in southwest Birmingham across from Wenonah High School and a standoff ensued. Multiple other law enforcement agencies assisted during the standoff, including SWAT teams from several Birmingham area agencies.
More than four hours later, about 10:30 p.m., Banks and Burgin were found hiding in the attic of one of the apartments.
They were removed by tactical officers and turned over to Guntersville police.
Both men remain held in the Marshall County Jail. At some point, they will be returned to Jefferson County to face the kidnapping charges here.