2 more arrests in Jewelers Row abduction

The second and third men of a trio who allegedly kidnapped and tortured a Jewelers Row employee two months ago were arrested Thursday night, authorities said.

Around 7 p.m., Basil Buie, 26, was arrested in Northeast Philadelphia, and Salahudin Shaheed, 35, was arrested in South Philadelphia, said Anthony Tropea, assistant special agent in charge in Philadelphia for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Both Philadelphia men had been under surveillance and were taken into custody without incident, Tropea said.

Khayree Gay, 31, of the Ogontz section, was arrested in South Carolina six days after the 53-year-old woman was abducted April 4 after she left work at National Watch & Diamond Exchange on South Eighth Street.

"These arrests hopefully will bring some measure of relief to the victim," Tropea said at a news conference. He was accompanied by Detectives Paul Guercio and Thomas DeMalto of the Philadelphia Police Department's Central Detective Division.

Buie and Shaheed are expected to appear Friday afternoon in federal court at Sixth and Market Streets.

The victim was kidnapped in a Chestnut Street parking garage and taken away by three men in a burgundy Ford Econoline van.

During the abduction, she was beaten by all three, shocked repeatedly with a stun gun, and bound by her arms and legs while the men demanded to know the code to the safe at the jewelry store. She said she did not know and offered her personal possessions instead.

The men used her debit card at various ATMs before dumping her at a Darby Township cemetery. They later returned to again demand the code before finally leaving her back at the cemetery. She was able to walk to a street and flag down a passing motorist for help. She was treated for a concussion and broken ribs, among other injuries.