Clockwise from top left: : Kevin Holmes, 21, Cortez Jackson, 39, Damon Tromp, 19, and Monica Reed, 37. They are accused of kidnapping a woman in Orange County, Florida, and forcing her inside a dog cage in a backyard shed. All four are facing charges of armed kidnapping with intent to commit a felony and false imprisonment with a weapon. Reed also faces a third charge of aggravated battery with a firearm. (Mugshots via Orange County Jail; street image from Google Maps)
Deputies in Orange County, Florida, arrested four people after they allegedly kidnapped a woman and forced her inside a dog cage in a backyard shed.
The incident came to a close around 2 p.m. Saturday when the woman, said to be in her 40s, escaped and was frantically knocking on doors and windows in search of help. Neighbors came out to the woman’s aid and called 911. Deputies responded and rescued the woman, who was suffering from minor injuries.
Arrested were: Kevin Holmes, 21, Cortez Jackson, 39, Monica Reed, 37; and Damon Tromp, 19. According to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, they “did forcibly confine, abduct or imprison the victim against their will [for] the purpose of inflicting bodily harm or terrorizing the victim.”
The suspects forced the woman inside of a car at gunpoint and tied her hands together with a cord, the affidavit says. They then allegedly took her to a home where they further restrained her by binding her hands and feet together and covering her mouth with duct tape. Reed also pistol-whipped the victim, deputies allege.
The suspects took the woman to a shed behind a home and stuck her inside a dog cage, the affidavit said. The motive for the kidnapping was to obtain information about a “potential stolen item” at her home, deputies said. The affidavit did not detail how she was able to escape.
Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG talked with neighbor Tony Stanislaus who said the woman came to his home begging for help.
“I was in the bathroom about to take a shower and my lady told me that somebody’s knocking at the back window,” Stanislaus told the TV station. “I said, ‘Man, that’s impossible,’ because, you know, there’s a privacy fence back there.”
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Stanislaus said he told deputies the woman was gone by the time he went to check on her.
“I told them, you know, ‘I don’t know if this has anything to do with anything, but someone clearly jumped the fence and got to our back window and tapped,’” he said. “At that time, my lady described the person and then the officer said, ‘Sounds like that was the victim.’”
The suspects are facing charges of armed kidnapping with intent to commit a felony and false imprisonment with a weapon. Reed also faces a third charge of aggravated battery with a firearm. All four are at the Orange County Jail without bond.
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