3 Men Charged with Kidnapping and Torturing Man Mistaken for Their Co-Worker
The suspects kidnapped a man at gunpoint after mistaking him for someone who owed them money, prosecutors said
Broward Sheriff's Office (3)
Jeffry Arista; Jonathan Arista; Raymond GomezThree men have been charged with kidnapping, waterboarding and torturing a Florida man, who then called in a bomb threat in order to be rescued by the police.
On Oct. 13, a man left his Fort Lauderdale residence between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., according to a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida. While approaching his vehicle, he encountered three suspects — identified as brothers Jeffry Arista and Jonathan Arista, and Raymond Gomez — who waved a gun and ordered him to enter a white Dodge Charger with tinted windows and a police light, the complaint continued.
While driving to a nearby Airbnb, the victim was “forced to wear a black head covering to obstruct his vision” while one of the men tossed his cell phone out of the car, per the complaint. Upon arriving at the residence, Jeffry asked the man to identify himself, “implying they had kidnapped the wrong individual.”
The complaint stated that the “kidnappers further confirmed this when they removed the Victim's wallet from his pocket and checked his identification.” The men questioned why “the Coworker” was driving the man’s vehicle the Thursday prior, demanding “to know where the money was,” the complaint said, noting that the statement was in reference to funds allegedly owed to them.
“The kidnappers threatened the Victim by putting an electric drill to his skin and pointing firearms towards his head,” according to the complaint. “At one point, the kidnappers forced the Victim into a bathroom inside the Residence where they covered his face with four or five black masks and poured buckets of water on him, effectively waterboarding him. During this time, the Victim thought he was going to drown.”
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The three men then “brainstormed”' how they could “lure” the intended target, supplying the victim with a new phone while accessing his iCloud account in order to obtain the co-worker’s cell number and make plans for a meeting, the complaint continued.
Related: 11-Year-Old Girl Kidnapped by Man She Met Playing Online Video Games: Police
After 7:30 p.m., Gomez drove the man and Jeffry to his apartment, where Jeffry went inside and “brandished a silver firearm” before calling his brother to bring him drugs, per the complaint. “When all three kidnappers were together in the Victim’s apartment, the Victim received a text message from the Coworker stating that he was at the Business.”
After the four men arrived on Oct. 14,, the victim was allowed to enter the co-worker’s business. But once inside, he ended up making a bomb threat in order “to get a rapid police response,” according to the complaint. The kidnappers were eventually arrested.
On Monday, Jeffry and Jonathan appeared in federal court on kidnapping charges, according to ABC News, which noted that Gomez has not appeared in court yet.
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