Florida men charged with kidnapping, waterboarding and torturing man in case of mistaken identity

Also: Armed Kidnappers Waterboarded and Threatened to Kill Victim at Plantation AirBnB (U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida)

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Source: ABC News

Florida men charged with kidnapping, waterboarding and torturing man in case of mistaken identity

They looked at the victim's ID and confirmed it was the wrong person, DOJ says.

ByLuke Barr
October 17, 2023, 4:16 PM

Two Florida brothers and another man were charged with federal kidnapping, waterboarding, and torturing a man despite knowing he was not the target of their plot, according to court documents unsealed on Tuesday.

A man came out of his house on Oct. 13 in Plantation, Florida, and went into his apartment's parking garage between 7:30 and 8 a.m. when he was approached by three men, later identified as Jeffry Arista, Jonathan Arista, and Raymond Gomez, who brandished a firearm and told him to get in a black car with police lights, the complaint said.

"Jeffry Arista asked the victim to identify himself, implying they had kidnapped the wrong individual. The kidnappers further confirmed this when they removed the victim's wallet from his pocket and checked his identification. At this point, the kidnappers began inquiring why the coworker was using the victim's car this past Thursday and demanded to know where the money was," the criminal complaint, unsealed in the Southern District of Florida, said.

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When they figured out it was in fact the wrong person, the men then allegedly "brainstormed" on how to get the correct person to them, which involved the victim being forced to call the correct target and make plans with him, according to the complaint.

In order to solicit a large police presence, the victim went into his coworker's business on Oct. 14 and said he had a bomb, the complaint alleged. ...

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Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-men-charged-kidnapping-waterboarding-torturing-wrong-man/story?id=104046266

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Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida

Armed Kidnappers Waterboarded and Threatened to Kill Victim at Plantation AirBnB

Tuesday, October 17, 2023
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida

MIAMI – On Oct. 16, 2023, Jeffry Arista, 32, and his brother, Jonathan Arista, 29, had their initial appearances in federal court on federal kidnapping charges.

According to allegations contained in the criminal complaint on October 13, 2023, Jeffry Arista, Jonathan Arista, and Raymond Gomez committed an armed kidnapping of the victim outside of the victim’s apartment. After forcefully transporting the victim to an AirBnB, a rental property located in Plantation, Florida, the kidnappers realized that they had abducted the wrong person. Rather than releasing the victim, the kidnappers waterboarded and threatened to kill the victim while pointing firearms, tasers, and an electric drill at the kidnapped victim. Upon learning that the intended target was at a business in Pompano Beach, Florida, the kidnappers forcefully brought the victim to the business and ordered the victim to go into the business and lure out the intended target. Upon entering the business, the victim called law enforcement and all three kidnappers were arrested.

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Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/armed-kidnappers-waterboarded-and-threatened-kill-victim-plantation-airbnb