A Lancaster County man is facing numerous charges after police say he robbed and kidnapped his landlord at gunpoint during an alleged incident on February 14.
Aga Thapaliya, 39, of the 2700 block of Valley Road, also fired multiple shots out of a moving vehicle as it traveled along Route 30 between the Mountville and Columbia exits, according to Manor Township Police.
He is charged with felony counts of kidnapping to inflict terror, unlawful restraint, terroristic threats and carrying a firearm without a license and misdemeanor counts of possession of a weapon, robbery, theft and simple assault, police said.
Police began investigating when the victim contacted authorities from a Sheetz store located on the 1100 block of Manheim Pike at 7:36 p.m. on Feb. 14, reporting that Thapaliya pointed a gun at his head and demanded money. The suspect was still in the victim's vehicle, the victim reported.
The victim said he had gotten a call from Thapaliya, who lived at a property the victim owned, asking for a ride home from the Asian Mini Market on the 1800 block of Columbia Avenue.
The victim agreed to give Thapaliya a ride, but said he had another matter to attend to before he dropped Thapaliya off.
At that point, the victim reported, Thapaliya demanded to be taken home immediately and refused to leave the victim's vehicle, a white Toyota Sienna, police said.
The victim eventually took Thapaliya home, he reported. Thapaliya then told the victim he had something to give him and went into a garage attached to the home. A few minutes later, he emerged from the garage, sat down in the passenger seat of the vehicle, produced a handgun, and threatened to kill the victim if he didn't give him money, according to police.
The victim drove off, and Thapaliya continued to demand money and threaten the victim until he sent Thapaliya $500 in two separate Zelle transactions, according to police.
Thapaliya forced the victim to continue driving, and at one point they traveled onto Route 30, where Thapaliya fired six shots out of the passenger window as the vehicle traveled on the highway between Columbia and Mountville, the victim reported.
Eventually, the victim said, Thapaliya placed the handgun on the vehicle's dashboard. The gun slid across the dashboard and fell onto the floor of the driver's side, where the victim picked it up. The victim then pulled over at the Sheetz, exited the van, and called authorities, he told police.
Thapaliya also fled from the van, but was apprehended by Lancaster City Police at a nearby business complex, police said.
A Lancaster Police officer also retrieved the handgun that fell onto the floor of the van, police said. It was a EAA Girsan MC28 SA 9mm handgun that Thapaliya was not licensed or permitted to carry, according to police.
A Manor Township Police officer also recovered six spent shell casings from the passenger side floor of the van, police said.
Thapaliya was arraigned on the charges before Magisterial District Judge Clark Bearinger, who set bail at $250,000. He was transported to Lancaster County Prison after failing to post bail, and is awaiting a preliminary hearing, which is scheduled for Feb. 21, court records show.
