Recent arrests by Sunnyside police detectives and the department's new gang unit led investigators to link two suspects together in a witness kidnapping case, officials said.

Richard Bermudez, 29, of Sunnyside, was arrested earlier this month for allegedly kidnapping a witness to a September shooting on North 10th Street.

On Tuesday, the gang unit arrested Adrian Pulido, 29, of Sunnyside, after helping Department of Corrections officers search Pulido's home in the 100 block of East Lincoln Avenue, said Sunnyside police spokeswoman Charlotte Hinderlider.

Officers found a fully automatic .223 bullpup assault rifle, an AK-47 and several loaded magazines at the house, she said.

They also found property that belonged to Bermudez and his kidnapping victim, but at the time had no grounds to seize the items, Hinderlider said.

That changed when gang unit officers met with detectives and learned that Bermudez had held the woman against her will at Pulido's home, she said.

During the investigation into the witness kidnapping, detectives also discovered that Bermudez previously had kidnapped the victim of a shooting in February 2010, Hinderlider said.

Bermudez is accused of threatening the man in order to prevent him from cooperating with police and prosecutors, Hinderlider said. Around the time of trial, Bermudez reportedly kidnapped the man and took him to various places in Moses Lake, Pullman and Connell.

The victim was held against his will for several weeks at a time under the threat of violence, Hinderlider said.

Bermudez now faces charges of first-degree kidnapping, witness tampering and violation of a pretrial harassment no contact order.

Pulido was arrested on suspicion of possessing an automatic weapon, possessing a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and two counts of possessing marijuana. He is now also being held for investigation of first-degree kidnapping.