Maine Men Allegedly Kidnapped, Threatened to Kill a 19-Year-Old

Two Whitefield men are at the center of a bizarre plot that allegedly involved kidnapping and threatening a teenager from Penobscot County.

A Whitefield Man and His Son-In-Law Face Multiple Felonies

John Pagurko, 63, and his son-in-law, Michael Davila Rodriguez, 30, both of Whitefield have been arrested in connection with this case. Both men are charged with kidnapping, robbery, and criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon.

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Pagurko Allegedly Deceived the Teen to Get Him to Travel to Augusta

The case revolves around Pagurko, his daughter, son-in-law, and a 19-year-old man from Penobscot County. At the center of the situation are accusations that the teen had sexually assaulted Pagurko's daughter. While there is an investigation, no charges have been filed. For that reason, the teen's name has not been released.

According to the Kennebec Journal, Pagurko asked Rodriguez to text the teen and invite him to Augusta using the daughter's phone. When he finally agreed to the meeting, Pagurko allegedly used the daughter's debit card to purchase a bus ticket from Bangor to Augusta. On the day he traveled, the young man was served with a protection from abuse order, barring him from having contact with the woman. Once he got to Augusta, the teen was picked up by Rodriguez and taken to Whitefield.

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Stories Vary About What Happened When the Teen Got to Whitefield

From here, stories vary. Pagurko says he talked to the teen about not seeing his daughter anymore. He allegedly told his authorities that his daughter came out, during that exchange, and demanded the teen's phone, deleting all pictures of her, and then refusing to give the phone back. That phone has been seized as evidence by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

On the day that the teen was arrested for violation of a protection order, the daughter called the sheriff's office to say that she was afraid of her parents. She allegedly claimed that on the day the teen was at her house, her father and Rodriguez had tied him up and threatened to kill and castrate him. This account is closer to what the teen told authorities, in an interview in Penobscot County. He said he was forced to his knees before being tied to a chair, where a shotgun was held to his head.

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