Three men are accused of kidnapping a man, torturing him, and then taking him to a strip club after discovering they kidnapped the wrong man, according to Florida police.
The incident unfolded on Friday when the victim left his Ft. Lauderdale home at about 7:30 a.m. and was confronted by a kidnapper wearing police attire, including a ballistic vest and a gold badge on his belt, according to an affidavit.
He was allegedly placed in a car with a police light and driven to an Airbnb after the kidnappers tossed his phone out of the window on the way.
Once they arrived at the rental, the kidnappers realized they had nabbed the wrong man, but instead of turning him loose, they waterboarded him, the affidavit says.
The victim said that he believed he was going to drown. The kidnappers then allegedly threatened him with guns, Tasers, and an electric drill.
After learning that the intended target was at the “Booby Trap” gentlemen’s club in Pompano Beach, they drove the kidnapped man to the strip club to search for him. They demanded the man go inside the club and lure out the target, but instead, he called law enforcement.
Police arrested a pair of brothers, 32-year-old Jeffry Arista and 29-year-old Jonathan Arista as well as a third 42-year-old suspect named Raymond Gomez. They were booked into the Broward County Jail and charged with numerous counts of kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, aggravated assault, and battery.
Gomez told investigators that the kidnapping was ordered by another unknown man who claimed the target owed him money, according to the affidavit.
An attorney at the court hearing appeared to joke about the situation to the judge.
“I gotta tell ya, judge, in the history of kidnappings, this will be the first time someone gets kidnapped and then taken to a strip club!” he said. “I’ve never heard of that before!”
“I was about to say, I think there’s a long list of husbands who have claimed exactly that in the past,” the judge replied. “We’ve all been taken against our will.”
If convicted, the suspects each face a sentence of life in prison.
Here’s a news report about the alleged strip club kidnapping:
Trio accused of KIDNAPPING, WATERBOARDING man in case of MISTAKEN identitywww.youtube.com
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