ALFRED — A suspect being held at the York County Jail awaiting trial on kidnapping, terrorizing and assault charges stemming from a January 2018 incident in Sanford is in additional trouble after having been indicted by the York County grand jury for trafficking in prison contraband.

An indictment was handed up by the grand jury earlier this month for Dylan Austin of Sanford, 27, who is scheduled to stand trial in York County Superior Court in Alfred on Feb. 13 for felony kidnapping, aggravated assault and other charges. Austin was allegedly part of a group that held a Sanford resident against his will for several hours in an abandoned Emery Street apartment, stabbed him and beat him with a pipe on Jan. 11, 2018. The new contraband indictment does not specify what the substance being trafficked in the jail was.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt, but a finding that enough evidence exists to move forward with prosecution.

In an affidavit on file at York County Superior Court in Alfred, the kidnapping victim, identified by prosecutors as Justin Richardson, 29, told Sanford Police investigators at the time that his captors claimed he owed them $3,000 for drugs and an additional $5,000 for making them wait for the money.

Austin and Cody Boudreau of Sanford were each charged with Class A felony kidnapping charge, Class B felony aggravated assault with a weapon, Class C felony criminal threatening, Class D misdemeanor assault and terrorizing and Class E misdemeanor theft of less than $500 in connection with the alleged incident. Another suspect, Shantel Rodriguez, 24, was charged with the same six counts and an additional assault charge.

Boudreau, 23, was sentenced in December to 10 years in prison with all but three years suspended by Judge Jeffrey Moskowitz at York County Superior Court in Alfred after pleading guilty to aggravated assault, assault, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, terrorizing and theft against Richardson. Rodriguez pleaded guilty last fall to kidnapping, assault and terrorizing and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with all but four years suspended, court records reveal.

In a press statement released last February about the incident, Sanford Police Detective Sgt. Matthew Jones said Richardson told police he was beaten and held against his will for several hours in an abandoned apartment after being lured there by an acquaintance.

“The victim was forced to make phone calls to procure a large sum of money to secure his release,” Jones said in a press statement. “During this period of captivity, the victim was beaten and feared for his life. The victim made an attempt to escape and was tackled and stabbed with a knife.”

Jones said Richardson was unable to procure the money, hence his attempt to escape. He was found by a neighbor bleeding in a snowbank on Emery Street and had sustained a stab wound to the heart, said Jones.

When police arrived, they found Richardson in a fetal position, according to the affidavit. His face was bloody and the area around his eye was bruised and swollen. Paramedics noticed blood on his shirt and the victim admitted he’d been stabbed.

According to the affidavit, police saw a puncture mark under the victim’s left armpit. He was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland for treatment of the wound.

Police identified potential suspects in the case early on and warrants for their arrest were secured.

Austin was taken into custody Feb. 1, 2018, when York County Sheriff’s deputies discovered that there was a warrant for his arrest during a routine traffic stop in Acton.

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 or by email at [email protected]