Horn Lake kidnapping suspect caught in Tupelo
Tupelo police are holding a suspect wanted in connection with a kidnapping case from Horn Lake.
Police in Tupelo say they have arrested 25-year-old Izaya Kutschinski and are holding him in the Lee County Jail for Horn Lake police. Kutschinski is charged with hit and run and driving with an expired license in addition to the hold for Horn Lake officials.
Officers say they used Flock Safety license plate recognition, or LPR, to locate Kutschinski’s vehicle. Shortly before 2 p.m. Wednesday, a white 2015 Lexus ES was captured on a Flock LPR traveling east on McCullough Boulevard.
Officers attempted to locate the vehicle, which was later seen speeding southbound on North Front Street before crashing into an unattended vehicle on South Front Street near Troy Street. The driver fled on foot but was quickly apprehended near Elizabeth Street. Kutschinski was taken into custody without incident.
According to Horn Lake Police, all victims have been located safe. Late Thursday afternoon, Horn Lake police provided more information about the case.
The incident happened at Fortuna Grocery on Highway 51 at about 11:45 a.m. Wednesday morning, police said. They reported a physical disturbance between a man and woman that was seen in the parking lot. When officers arrived, witnesses said it appeared as if a woman tried to escape from a white Lexus four-door vehicle where a man physically restrained her.
Horn Lake Investigators were able to obtain video which confirmed a woman being held against her will and a man, later identified Kutschinski, forcefully keeping the woman in the car as the man prevented her escape several times. The woman could be heard by witnesses screaming for help before he threw her into the vehicle and it drove off, last seen headed north towards Memphis. Investigators determined that the woman’s one-year-old child was in the vehicle with them at the time of the kidnapping.
Horn Lake police were able to positively identify the vehicle and vehicle tag information which was broadcast to multiple surrounding agencies. The vehicle was last observed headed east on I-22. Due to this being a confirmed kidnapping, Horn Lake police reached out to several agencies along the I-22 corridor in an attempt to locate Kutschinski and the vehicle.
Tupelo officers were able to locate the white Lexus in their jurisdiction and attempted to stop the vehicle. The driver attempted to flee from Tupelo police, however, they were able to take him into custody without incident and positively identified as Izaya Kutschinski.
The woman and child were located safe in Memphis.
In Horn Lake, Kutschinski has been charged with two counts of Kidnapping and one count of simple domestic assault. On Thursday, he was returned to Horn Lake and is currently being held at the DeSoto County Jail.
Flock Safety LPR (License Plate Recognition) is a surveillance technology that uses cameras to capture and analyze license plates, primarily for law enforcement and neighborhood security. The system records vehicle details, including make, model, and color, and cross-references the data with law enforcement databases to identify stolen vehicles, wanted suspects, or other alerts.
