Man Indicted After Kidnapping Began In Alexandria: Report

WASHINGTON, DC — A man accused of threatening a woman with a knife in Alexandria and forcing her to drive into Washington, D.C., has been indicted on five charges, including federal kidnapping.

A federal grand jury indicted Timothy Willis on Aug. 14 on charges of kidnapping, intentional disclosure of nonconsensual intimate visual depictions, kidnapping while armed, first-degree unlawful publication and assault with a dangerous weapon, court records show.

Subscribe

Willis pleaded not guilty to all five counts during an arraignment on Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He remained held without bond as of Thursday and is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon for an Tuesday status conference.

Incident Began In Alexandria, Authorities Say

The allegations stem from a June 15 incident that began while Willis and the woman were inside her vehicle in Alexandria, according to an affidavit filed by a Metropolitan Police Department detective.

The woman told investigators that she was driving while Willis used her cellphone to make DoorDash deliveries. Prosecutors allege Willis began looking through the phone, accused her of being unfaithful and retrieved a folding knife from the vehicle's center console.

Willis pointed the knife toward the woman, threatened to kill her and repeatedly ordered her to drive him "uptown," causing her to travel from Alexandria into the District, according to the affidavit.

Ring camera footage reviewed by investigators showed the woman crouching behind a parked vehicle in an Alexandria neighborhood, the affidavit said. She told investigators that she had stopped and left her vehicle under the pretense of using a restroom in an attempt to escape, but Willis ordered her to return.

The woman also placed a call to the Alexandria Police Department following the assault in Virginia, according to investigators.

After they entered Washington, Willis stabbed the passenger seat with the knife, held the weapon against the woman's neck, threatened her again and struck her twice on the shoulder, court records said.

The woman escaped from the vehicle in the 600 block of Elmira Street Southeast and called 911. Willis fled with her cellphone, according to authorities.

Investigators said Willis then used the phone to post a sexually explicit video of the woman to her Instagram account and distribute it through several group text-message conversations. The recipients included dozens of the woman's colleagues at D.C. Fire and EMS, where she has worked since 2006, according to court records.

The woman did not consent to the video's distribution, according to the affidavit.

Willis denied the allegations during an interview with investigators, court records said. He was initially arrested by D.C. police June 30 and charged in D.C. Superior Court before federal authorities obtained a sealed complaint and arrest warrant.

Federal authorities arrested Willis on Aug. 4. A magistrate judge ordered him held without bond on Aug. 12.

An indictment is a formal accusation and does not establish guilt. Willis is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.