Defendants Allegedly Kept Man Captive for Three Days;
Possessed Multiple Weapons
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a man and a woman have
been indicted on Kidnapping, Robbery, Assault and additional charges for beating and holding a
man hostage in a Bronx bodega.
District Attorney Clark said, “The defendants allegedly took part in a series of atrocious
acts. They kept a man in a basement against his will in handcuffs for days and inflicted injuries
on him, at times with a knife and a heavy object. Luckily the victim was found by NYPD Police
Officers who were on patrol in the area.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendants, Orinthia Gifford, 49, and Richard Millwood,
35, both of 4160 Digney Avenue, were arraigned on six counts of first-degree Kidnapping, two
counts of second-degree Kidnapping, first-degree Unlawful Imprisonment, three counts of
second-degree Assault, two counts of second-degree Robbery, third-degree Robbery, fourthdegree Grand Larceny and six counts of fourth-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon. Gifford
was arraigned today before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Miriam Best. Millwood was arraigned
on October 8, 2019. Bail was continued at $75,000 cash/$75,000 bond for Gifford and $250,000
cash/$250,000 bond for Millwood. The defendants are due back in court on December 11, 2019.
According to the investigation, on the evening of September 7, 2019 the victim, Ansumana
Sesay, 49, was on White Plains Road when Millwood and two unapprehended individuals
allegedly put him in a vehicle and took him to a bodega located at 1724 Bussing Avenue, which
is owned by Gifford. Once inside Gifford allegedly hit Sesay in the head with an unknown heavy
object and ordered the three other men to take the victim to the basement. They allegedly held
Sesay against his will in the basement between September 7, 2019 and September 10, 2019. The
victim and the defendants are known to each other.
According to the investigation, on September 10, 2019, police officers were pursuing an
individual wanted in an unrelated case and the individual ran into the bodega where Sesay was being held. The officers received consent to enter the store and searched the basement, where
they discovered Sesay with visible injuries.
The defendants allegedly possessed several weapons, including a rifle, a 9-mm firearm, a
knife, a machete, an unknown heavy object and a lighter. They also had personal property
allegedly stolen from the victim, including his cell phone and cash.
District Attorney Clark thanked Bronx DA Chief of Detective Investigators Frank Chiara,
and Bronx DA Supervising Detective Investigator Rocco Galasso, Bronx DA Senior Investigator
John Wall, and Detective Investigator Anai Tamarez. District Attorney Clark also thanked NYPD
Detective Valerie Guzman and NYPD Police Officer Austin Hieronymi, both of the 47th Precinct,
for their assistance in the investigation.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
