A man kidnapped and put in a car texted 911 from the back seat, leading to his rescue and his captors’ arrests, police in Florida say.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office received the text on Nov. 29. The victim said he was being held against his will and was in a blue Kia headed to a bank in Kissimmee. He gave his location, and deputies spotted the vehicle. They conducted a felony traffic stop and arrested two people, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime.
The victim told detectives a woman he knew as “D” contacted him and said she needed help. She needed a place to stay and a shower, so he bought her a room at a motel on Nov. 28. He said they smoked marijuana and drank some alcohol, and he passed out. When he woke up, he realized $500 was missing from his wallet. When he confronted “D,” later identified as Christina Denise Jones, 37, she became irate. Her brother, Curtis Jones, came to the room, and they began selling drugs in the room, the affidavit said.
From left: Christina Jones, Curtis Jones and Jorge Alvarez are accused of kidnapping a man in Florida. The victim texted 911 from the back seat of a car, and deputies rescued him and arrested the trio. (Osceola County Jail)
Christina and Curtis Jones also demanded the victim show them how much money he had in the bank and forced him to open up the bank app, the affidavit said. Curtis Jones allegedly threatened to “slice him up with a knife” when the victim refused to give up $900. The victim said he was scared, so he went along after the suspects arranged a ride to the bank. As they were waiting, another man named Jorge Alfonso Alvarez came and was tasked with making sure the victim didn’t leave the hotel room, according to the affidavit.
The victim secretly texted 911 on the way to the bank.
“He gave us a very good description of the car,” Osceola County Sheriff Marco Lopez told local NBC affiliate WESH. “He maintained calm. We saturated the area with deputies, found the vehicle, conducted a traffic stop and started our investigation.”
The Joneses and Alvarez are facing charges of robbery, false imprisonment, kidnapping and aggravated assault. All three are at the Osceola County Jail without bond.
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