SALT LAKE COUNTY — Police are accusing three men of briefly kidnapping their neighbor in Midvale after the victim escaped from a moving car.
Investigators say the victim called police on Saturday after seeing someone he recognized reportedly stealing a security camera.
Unified Police Lieutenant Brian Lohrke says the relationship between the victim and the suspects had been pleasant in the past, so the victim went to talk with the suspects on Sunday.
However, “Once he stepped inside, he heard the door close behind him. Somebody grabbed him and put a knife to his throat,” Lohrke says.
The suspects, Gilbert Garcia, Jack Ables and Mitchell Decora, reportedly threatened to kill the victim if he didn’t drop the theft case.
Lohrke adds, “He’s held in that apartment for about 20 minutes. Two suspects then grabbed him and put him into a vehicle and they started to drive off. We don’t know where they were going, at that point.”
The victim was able to unlock the car door and jumped out while the car was moving roughly 20 miles an hour.
“The guy is OK, but very shaken up from this situation. He’s working with our detective, right now, and our detectives are putting the case together to present to the District Attorney’s Office,” Lohrke says.
Had Garcia, Ables and Decora left the victim alone, it would have been a misdemeanor theft case, but now, Lohrke says, “[They’re facing] multiple felonies, like aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and aggravated assault.”
(Photo Credit: Unified Police)