Facebook Amanda Lynn Starr.
Amanda Lynn Starr and Christopher Gray Stevenson are a North Carolina couple arrested charges accusing them of kidnapping and sexual servitude. Starr and Stevenson are also accused of promoting prostitution for profits, the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office says.
Starr, 28, and Stevenson, 27, were wanted by the office’s special victims unit and their whereabouts had been unknown, the sheriff’s office said May 5 in a press release.
On May 8, the sheriff’s office said they were arrested in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
“The pair was apprehended Tuesday May 7, 2019 around 8:00 pm and are now in custody. The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office received information leading to a location in Virginia and relayed the information to Virginia Beach Police Department. The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office is currently making arrangements for the extradition process to bring Mr. Stevenson and Ms. Starr back to Alamance County,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook. “The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Virginia Beach Police Department for their assistance.”
Police said a missing persons investigation led to the apartment where Starr and Stevenson are living and detectives found evidence of “sex trafficking” there. The sheriff’s office said further charges could be filed against the couple.
Here’s what you need to know about Amanda Lynn Starr and Christopher Gray Stevenson:
1. The Sheriff’s Office Says a Traffic Stop Led Investigators to Believe the Adult Victim Was Being Held Against Her Will
FacebookChristopher Gray Stevenson.
The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office has not released many details about the investigation. According to WXII-TV, deputies received a report on Saturday, May 4, of a missing person who had last been seen in Alamance County.
Deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle believed to be connected to the missing person and additional information was found. Investigators said the evidence led them to believe the missing person was being held against her will and possibly involved in the commercial sex industry, WXII reports.
“Through the investigation, sheriff’s deputies spoke to multiple parties, who led investigators to believe that the missing person was endangered,” the Winston Salem Journal wrote.
The missing person was found and is OK, but is not being identified for her safety. Deputies are now searching for Amanda Lynn Starr and Christopher Gray Stevenson in connection to the case, according to the sheriff’s office.
According to WTVD-TV, a search warrant was executed on the Parkridge Apartments in Graham, North Carolina, where more evidence was found. The pair lives at the apartment complex, according to the news station.
“This case remains under investigation and additional charges are possible. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit at 336-570-6777,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
2. Amanda Starr Was Released From Prison in February After Serving 5 Years for Drug Trafficking & Child Abuse
Amanda Lynn Starr was recently released from North Carolina state prison in February after serving five years behind bars, according to online records. She had been posting on social media about being out of prison and spending time with her son and other family members.
Starr was convicted in 2013 of trafficking of schedule II narcotics, a class F felony, and misdemeanor child abuse. She was also convicted of bringing drugs into jail, a class H felony, according to North Carolina DOC records. She was arrested on those charges in May 2013.
Starr was sentenced to a minimum of 5 years and 10 months in prison and a maximum of 7 years and 9 months, with her sentence set to begin on November 18, 2013. She was released from the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women on February 27.
Starr also has previous convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor drug possession. She was sentenced to probation in that 2009 case, which stemmed from a 2008 arrest. Starr was then sentenced to probation and a suspended prison sentence in 2012 after a 2011 arrest on the same two misdemeanor charges.
In 2013, she spent a month in jail on a probation violation. Starr’s parole on the most recent charges is not set to expire in November 2019 and the new charges could see her land back behind bars to finish the remainder of her sentence.
3. Stevenson Has Also Spent Time in Prison on Burglary, Larceny & Drug Charges
Christopher Gray Stevenson.
Christopher Stevenson also has a record in North Carolina and has spent time in prison. According to North Carolina DOC records, Stevenson was last behind bars in 2016. He was convicted of habitual breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods.
Stevenson was in prison from 2014 until 2016 and was on parole until April 1, 2019.
FacebookChristopher Stevenson.
He also has previous convictions for larceny after breaking and entering, drug possession, parole violations and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Stevenson is known to frequent Alamance and Carswell counties, the sheriff’s office said on Facebook. On his Facebook page, Stevenson uses the name “Tom Ford.” Stevenson says he is a graduate of Barlett Yancey High School in Baltimore.
4. Starr Is a North Carolina Native & Studied at Alamance Community College Prior to Her Time Behind Bars
Amanda Lynn Starr.
Amanda Lynn Starr is a North Carolina native, according to her Facebook page.
Starr attended Southern Alamance High School and also studied at Alamance Community College before she ended up in prison, according to her Facebook page.
5. Starr & Stevenson Face 3 to 15 Years in Prison on the Kidnapping Charge & Up to 3 Years in Prison on the Sexual Servitude Charge
Amanda Lynn Starr.
Amanda Lynn Starr and Christopher Gray Stevenson both face several years in prison if convicted of the felony charges they face. The first-degree kidnapping charge is a class C felony, which carries a potential prison sentence of 44 to 182 months in prison. A prior record would likely lead to a sentence on the higher end of the range.
Sexual servitude is a class F felony, which carries a potential sentence of between 10 to 41 months in prison. Promoting prostitution is also a class F felony.
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