NORFOLK, Va. — The FBI is asking for the public’s help investigating a man accused of kidnapping a woman from Norfolk in March of 2022.
Troy Leitner, 61, is a Pennsylvania native, but he’s currently sitting in the Western Tidewater Regional Jail. Federal prosecutors say he abducted a woman from a home on Sheppard Avenue, reportedly posing as a law enforcement officer and taking her away in handcuffs.
Norfolk resident Tim Hopkins says he clearly remembers the day Leitner visited the Alden Heights neighborhood, claiming to be a “fugitive recovery agent.”
“He actually handed me a little card, and it looked official enough when I asked him for it,” remembered Hopkins. “He had a badge hanging on his chest.
Hopkins says Leitner asked him who lived in the house next door. A federal affidavit adds Leitner showed residents a photo of a woman, described as Jane Doe, and told them he was bringing her to a rehab facility.
Hopkins claims he went over to the house with Leitner where Jane Doe was renting a room. Court records and Hopkins both say Leitner started opening doors and “clearing” rooms. At one point, Hopkins says the man tried to hand him his weapon.
“He said, ‘Here I want to open this door,’ handing me his weapon, and I said, ‘No that’s not what you’re supposed to do.’ This guy was trying to have me put my fingerprints on his weapon,” explained Hopkins.
Jane Doe wasn’t there, but when she came back, so did Leitner. Records claim Leitner told the woman she was under arrest. He then said he was going to “take her somewhere to ask her questions,” but claimed he would bring her back home after.
Prosecutors say, after taking Jane Doe, Leitner drove her to South Carolina, renting several hotel rooms along the way. During the drive, Leitner allegedly told Jane Doe to call her mother and explain she was on her way to rehab. The woman accused Leitner of sexually assaulting her at one of those hotels, though Leitner only faces kidnapping charges.
“It was devastating just to see there was someone out here capable of doing something like that,” Hopkins said.
Court records say Jane Doe was using heroin at the time. On March 18, Leitner allegedly dropped her at McLeod Health Clarendon Hospital in South Carolina. He reportedly told hospital security he was a bounty hunter and that he’d found the woman high on the side of the road.
“Security became suspicious and took a photograph of the man’s license plate,” records say.
After this, Florida’s Highlands County Sheriff’s office, where Jane Doe’s mother lives called Leitner, according to court records. He told the agency he worked for “Federal Fugitive Recovery” and that Jane Doe had agreed to help apprehend a drug dealer. When the sheriff’s office told Leitner there was no warrant out for Jane Doe, “Leitner would not provide information as to the alleged warrant.”
Leitner was booked at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail on May 14. Court records indicate his trial will happen this fall.
Hopkins says officers told him the woman survived, explaining, “I understand she was in pretty bad shape, but they found her safe, so I was just glad to hear that.”
In a statement to 13News Now, the FBI’s Norfolk office said, “FBI Norfolk can confirm that there is an active investigation, and investigators believe there may be more potential victims. Anyone with information is asked to contact their local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or submit a tip to tips.fbi.gov.”