One of the kidnappers placed a GPS tracking device on Joel Edwards’ truck, and they waited for him to arrive back home from Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland.

When Edwards pulled into his driveway in Gwynn Oak on Jan. 17, 2024, he went to look for an item in the back seat.

That’s when one of the men approached Edwards with a gun, and they started to struggle. More assailants then got out of a minivan and punched Edwards, kicked him and pulled him into the vehicle.

The attackers then drove him to a home in Baltimore, where they zip-tied his hands to a chair and demanded a $25,000 ransom.

With the help of Baltimore County police, Edwards’ wife, Sheila, dropped the cash in a black bag at the dead end of Lucerne Road near Tevis Circle in Randallstown.

But the kidnappers got spooked and never picked up the money. Two days after the ordeal began, they let him go. Edwards walked to West North Avenue near Interstate 83 and flagged down a police officer for help.

Detectives used clues including a receipt from McDonald’s to identify and apprehend two of the men: Darron Finley Jr. and Gary Fayall.

Finley, 41, of Pikesville, and Fayall, 32, of Dundalk, recently pleaded guilty in Baltimore County Circuit Court to kidnapping and extortion. They were each sentenced to serve 45 years in prison, with 25 years suspended, plus five years’ supervised probation.

“The victim, obviously, wanted a substantial sentence,” Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Stone told Circuit Judge Robert Cahill Jr.

Stone described in detail what happened in court.

Finley, during questioning from his attorney Robert Cole Jr., claimed that the FBI wrote a report that stated he was not at the scene of the crime.

“If I’m not at the scene at the crime to take someone, how can you give me kidnapping?” he asked.

Later, Finley added, “What was the proof I extorted someone?”

But Finley decided to accept a plea agreement.

Fayall’s attorney Matthew Neubauer said his client worked as a delivery driver for a pharmacy and medical supply company in Carroll County.

“He does have a pretty serious substance use problem,” Neubauer said. “I do hope that there will eventually come a time that the court would consider drug treatment for him.”

Edwards did not speak during the hearings but had been set to testify if the cases proceeded to trial.

Finley and Fayall will receive credit for the time they spent in the Baltimore County Detention Center while awaiting trial.

But Finley will be extradited to Arizona, where court records show he’s facing charges in Maricopa County Superior Court, including armed robbery with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and theft by extortion.

Police described those allegations as “remarkably similar.”