Home » News » State College » Patton Township Man Charged with Kidnapping, Assault

Patton Township Man Charged with Kidnapping, Assault

State College - Police siren
Geoff Rushton


A Patton Township man is in jail after he allegedly terrorized a woman over a period of four months by threatening her with guns and violence to the point she feared leaving their apartment.

Mingda Pang, 23, was charged on Monday with kidnapping and 25 other felony and misdemeanor counts. 

According to an affidavit of probable cause, the woman reported to Patton Township police on Saturday a series of events between March and July that ’caused her harm, distress, terror and created a situation where she was unable to leave the residence without fear for her life or physical well-being.’

On March 29, the woman told police, Pang forced her to consume a large amount of alcohol then held a handgun against her as she begged him not to shoot. She said Pang then fired the gun into a pillow on the bed.

The woman said she became unconscious and when she awoke she was in pain and had seven cigarette burns on her legs. When she questioned Pang about it, he told her he accidentally dropped a cigarette on her, according to the affidavit.

She said over the four months Pang pointed a gun at her nearly every day.

In June, Pang allegedly pointed a rifle against her head and ‘told her he did not want to give her a chance at living,’ police wrote.

The woman said that in July she started a part-time internship, but that Pang would not allow her to do the work involved and threatened to kill her and her supervisor. He allegedly then put a gun against her head to force her to quit.

On multiple other occasions throughout the month of July that are detailed in the affidavit, Pang allegedly hit the woman and pointed a gun at her, telling her he could kill her. She said he also threw a dumbbell at her and ran around the apartment smashing her belongings, including a computer and cell phone.

The woman said that on Friday she escaped to another location. According to the affidavit, when Pang realized she was gone, he sent her messages and photos threatening the woman and her family.

Police said after he was taken into custody, Pang made a statement admitting to firing a gun inside the apartment toward a pillow and bed on multiple occasions.

After receiving a search warrant, police say they found eight rifles and two handguns in the apartment, as well as pillows and a bed cover with bullet holes and gunshot residue. Police also said they found bullet remnants and evidence gunshots were aimed at the floor toward an adjacent apartment.

In addition to one felony count of kidnapping to inflict injury or terror, Pang is charged with one felony count of discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, one misdemeanor count each of unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and harassment, seven misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, 12 misdemeanor counts of simple assault, and two misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person.

He was arraigned on Monday afternoon by District Judge Casey McClain, who set monetary bail at $750,000.

Pang was unable to post bail and is being held at the Centre County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 12.

An attorney for Pang is not listed in court documents.

wrong short-code parameters for ads