Florida Airbnb, Fake Badges, and Police Lights: Cartel Kidnappers Mistakenly Target and Waterboard Innocent Victim

 

Three men are facing charges for a bizarre and botched abduction in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The men, identified as Jeffry Arista, Jonathan Arista, and Raymond Gomez, allegedly kidnapped a man at gunpoint, believing he was their intended target. 

However, as the situation unraveled, they realized they had abducted the wrong person. The victim managed to turn the tables and alert the authorities to his plight.

The suspects reportedly impersonated law enforcement officers, flashing fake badges, and forced the victim into a car with police-style lights in a parking garage near his Fort Lauderdale home. When they grasped their mistake, they faced a perplexing situation.

This case bears a resemblance to activities associated with Colombian cartels, according to Pat Diaz, a retired Miami-Dade homicide detective, who likened it to something out of a "Keystone Cops" comedy.

After disposing of the abductee's phone during the initial kidnapping, the trio later provided him with a new one when they realized they needed his assistance to locate their actual target. They subjected the victim to threats, pistols, stun guns, and even waterboarding during approximately 12 hours of captivity.

Their plan then shifted to using the victim as bait to lure their true target, who turned out to be the victim's coworker. They forced him to contact his coworker using the new phone and took him to an Airbnb rental in Plantation, Florida.

With the victim's help, they located their intended target at a business in Pompano Beach. They drove him there in a rented Porsche. However, once inside, the victim alerted the target and called in a bomb threat, prompting a swift police response.

When the police arrived, they apprehended Jeffry Arista, who was lingering to record the victim on video. The other two suspects attempted to flee in the Porsche but crashed down the street, leading to the arrest of Jonathan Arista.

Jonathan Arista later stated that they were coerced into the plot by an unidentified individual who approached them three days earlier. He claimed he feared for his life and was hesitant to provide further information to the police.

In the aftermath of the abduction, police surveilled the Airbnb, witnessing two men cleaning the house before leaving in a Honda. They followed the vehicle, and Raymond Gomez attempted to escape on foot but was apprehended. 

Gomez confessed to being hired by an "unknown male" to abduct the target due to an unpaid debt.

[SOURCE]