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$25K offered for more arrests in prosecutor's dad's kidnapping

The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of two additional suspects in the abduction of a Wake County assistant prosecutor's father nearly two weeks ago.

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Jakym Tibbs and Quantavious Thompson
RALEIGH, N.C. — The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of two additional suspects in the abduction of a Wake County assistant prosecutor's father nearly two weeks ago.

Jakym "Jak" Camel Tibbs and Quantavious Thompson – also known as "Kirkwood Quan" or "Quan" – were charged Friday with conspiracy to kidnap in the April 5 abduction of Frank Janssen, federal authorities said Wednesday.

Janssen was taken from his Wake Forest home and rescued last Wednesday during an FBI raid of a southeast Atlanta apartment.

Six other people face federal charges in the case.

Authorities could not provide information on possible whereabouts for Tibbs or Thompson but said both men are considered armed and dangerous.

Thompson is 18 or 19 years old and is 5 feet 7 or 5 feet 8 and weighs 190 to 210 pounds.

Tibbs, 20, is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 155 to 165 pounds. He is from New York, and it appears from court records and other sources that he has a criminal record in Georgia.

"My office will continue to pursue everyone involved with this crime," U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker said in a statement. "This deliberate attack on our judicial system cannot be tolerated."

Authorities have described Janssen's kidnapping as an "elaborate plot" orchestrated via text message by Kelvin Melton. Janssen's daughter, Assistant District Attorney Colleen Janssen, prosecuted Melton nearly two years ago and won a conviction that put him in prison for the rest of his life.

Authorities say Melton sent more than 120 texts that included threats of torture to Janssen's wife and instructions to the alleged kidnappers on how to kill Janssen and dispose of his body.

Criminal complaints against Tibbs and Thompson allege that the pair Tibbs used a stun gun on the 63-year-old when he answered the door of his home and then took him to Atlanta, where the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team freed him just before midnight on April 9, according to court documents.

The complaints also alleged that the kidnappers stopped at a McDonald's in Lexington, S.C., on their way to Wake Forest and that a receipt from that McDonald's was later found on the floor at Janssen's home, where it was apparently dropped during the assault.

Authorities later recovered security camera footage from the fast-food restaurant showing Tibbs and Thompson suspect.

Once back in Atlanta, the kidnappers sent Janssen's wife photos of him tied to a chair along with text messages threatening to cut him into pieces if their demands weren't met. Authorities have not said specifically what the demands were – only that they were related to Melton.

Jenna Paulin Martin, 21, Tiana Maynard, 20, Jevante Price, 20, Michael Montreal Gooden, 21, and Clifton James Roberts, 29, were each arrested on federal kidnapping charges, which carry maximum prison sentences of life without parole.

They are being held without bond in Georgia and are awaiting extradition back to North Carolina.

Melton, 49 – who authorities say is a high-ranking member of the Bloods street gang from New York City – also faces a charge of conspiracy to kidnap.

He was convicted in October 2012 of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and of being a habitual felon.

{{a href-'"story-1"}}During a court hearing in Atlanta on Tuesday{{/a}}, federal prosecutor Ryan Buchanan said authorities found Roberts in his SUV with Martin and Maynard and that a pistol, a pick and a shovel were also found in the SUV. Court documents cited a phone call between Melton and someone associated with the kidnappers suggesting how to kill Janssen and dispose of his body.

Witness testimony also placed Roberts at the apartment when Janssen was there "bound and moaning in a closet," Buchanan said.

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