A kidnapping victim managed to save himself by not-so-subtly getting the attention of law enforcement, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office in Florida. He caused a traffic infraction on purpose, resulting in a deputy pulling him over, authorities said. From there, the victim desperately signaled that he was in trouble.
Now, the other three men allegedly in the car–Kashaveeyah Bragdon, 22, Benyahveen Radcliffe, 25, and Tsdekiel Sellers, 22–are charged with carrying a concealed firearm, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, and kidnapping to commit or facilitate commission of a felony.
Deputies identified the victim as a dog breeder, who bragged about his business online. The trio arrived at his home pretending to be interested dog buyers, but they instead robbed and assaulted him, authorities said. Bragdon, Radcliffee, and Sellers demanded he hand over the money he was talking about, deputies said.
Before the traffic stop, the four of them were on their way to get puppies that the victim bred, deputies said. But the dog breeder planned on catching law enforcement’s attention, driving in a pattern that would result in a traffic stop. A deputy did indeed pull him over for a traffic infraction, authorities said. The man signaled he was in danger, and the law enforcement officer managed to pick up on this, officials said.
“The dangerous saga lasted nearly two days and moved from various locations before the suspects kidnapped the man then forced the victim to drive to a location which required them to travel through Martin County,” deputies said. “Fortunately, it was at the same time our Traveling Criminal response team was on patrol monitoring the highways. When the victim, who was forced to drive the vehicle, saw the deputy, he intentionally committed a traffic infraction in hopes of being pulled over. It worked. Once stopped, the victim who was afraid to say he was being kidnapped had a look of despair when the deputy gave him a warning and started to send him on his way. The victim then used a hand motion in hopes that the deputy would pick up on his fear.”
Authorities said they managed to back up his account and confirm the kidnapping. They discovered guns, knives, and a lot of cash in the vehicle, they said.
[Images via Martin County Sheriff’s Office]
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