Third person charged in connection with Southampton kidnapping

Officers investigating the kidnap and assault of a man in Southampton have now charged a third person in connection with the incident. George William John Kean, 27, of Howard Close, has been charged with kidnap, assault and blackmail. He has been remanded into custody and is due to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court today (January 26). The charge comes after it was reported to the police that a man in his 20s and a man in his 30s had been assaulted on Rowborough Road on the evening of January 17. It was also reported that the man in his 20s had been forced into a car against his will.

As part of the ongoing police enquiries, specialist officers previously attended an address on Sycamore Road in Shirley Warren at 1:30am on Saturday (January 20) and arrested a 20-year-old man from Southampton. The man - Lloyd Baker, of Coxford Road, has now been charged with assault, kidnap and possession of an offensive weapon. A second man, 23-year-old Albie Samways of Wimpson Lane, has also been charged with assault and kidnap. Both Baker and Samways have been remanded into custody and are due to appear at Southampton Crown Court on February 23. As part of the investigation the police have also arrested a 20-year-old man and a 42-year-old man from Southampton on suspicion of conspiring to kidnap. The 20-year-old man has been released from police custody but remains under investigation and the 42-year-old man has been released on conditional bail while our enquiries continue.