Man Admits Kidnapping Paterson Business Owner, Driving Across State Lines In U-Haul Truck

Reginald Law, 38, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with kidnapping and Hobbs Act robbery, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said this week.

On Oct. 8, 2020, Law and his conspirator, Maurice Cottman, went into a Paterson business where they accosted the victim, who was working in the store, according to Sellinger.

Law and Cottman dragged the victim from the store, threw him into the back of a U-Haul truck, and drove him from Paterson to New York, federal officials said.

Law admitted that during the kidnapping, he and Cottman called the victim’s family, told them that he had the victim, and demanded ransom for his return. The victim suffered serious bodily injury from the kidnapping.

That afternoon, law enforcement officers saw the U-Haul parked in Harlem, NY. When the officers approached, Law and Cottman fled in the U-Haul and a motor-vehicle pursuit ensued. Law and Cottman crashed the U-Haul and tried to flee on foot.

Officers arrested Cottman, but Law got away. Officers retrieved the victim from the back of the U-Haul, and Law was a fugitive until his arrest on May 26, 2021.

Cottman previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to an Information charging him with one count of kidnapping. On March 29, 2022, Judge Chesler sentenced Cottman to 15 years in prison with five years of supervised release.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shontae D. Gray of the Economic Crimes Unit.

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