MOSES LAKE, WA – Grant County sheriff’s deputies have arrested a suspect in connection to the kidnapping and assault of a man earlier this month.

According to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, the adult male victim reported that on Sunday, April 6, he was behind the Safeway in Ephrata when individuals in a vehicle approached and invited him inside to warm up. Once inside, the driver allegedly threatened to kill him if he attempted to leave.

The victim stated he was taken to a trailer in Moses Lake and held under the master bed. During the two-day period, he said he was assaulted with a taser and baseball bat, threatened with a firearm, and subjected to physical violence.

On Wednesday morning, April 9, the victim said he was transported to a rural area—possibly near the Blackrock area east of Wilson Creek—where he was again assaulted, this time with a bat and a shovel. He was then left at the location. The victim walked to safety and was picked up by a citizen who took him to Columbia Basin Hospital. Ephrata Police officers collected his statement at that time.

On Friday, the victim was at the Circle K on Stratford Road in Moses Lake when two of the suspects involved in the initial abduction reportedly attempted to force him into a vehicle. The victim alerted a store clerk, who called 911.

Following an investigation, deputies identified 27-year-old Destin Johnson of Kent as a suspect. He was arrested later that morning while going through trash cans on Castle Drive in Moses Lake. Johnson was booked into the Grant County Jail for investigation of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault.

Authorities noted that the victim and Johnson are acquainted and believe the incident was targeted. The investigation remains ongoing.