Crime and Courts

Woman who engaged in 30-hour standoff with police after kidnapping girlfriend sentenced to 16 months

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A woman who engaged in a standoff with Fairfax County police for more than 30 hours after kidnapping her ex-girlfriend was sentenced Friday to 16 months in prison.

The victim was reported as a missing person last March. She later told police Brittany Copelin broke into her townhouse, fired a gunshot and kidnapped her.

After the victim escaped in Fairfax County, Virginia, Copelin stayed inside her SUV on Route 1 for more than a day before police coaxed her out.

Copelin entered an Alford plea in October to one count of abduction.

The victim told the judge Friday that Copelin’s actions forever changed her life, forcing her to sell her home because of the trauma she experienced there.

“The stability and comfort I once had were taken away from me in a weekend,” the victim told Copelin in court.

Copelin apologized to the victim and her family Friday.

She also faces charges in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in connection with the kidnapping.

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