A man is behind bars after being accused of kidnapping and robbing a woman he had just met online. Deputies are crediting the victim’s quick thinking and an app on her phone.
“911 do you need police, fire or medical?” said an operator.
“I need police at 9942 east Adamo Drive. It’s a motel 6. This guy he basically kidnapped me and put a gun to my head and robbed me of everything,” said the victim.
A frantic woman called 911 outside a Motel 6 in Brandon in January after deputies said a man she originally met online, turned out to be violent in person.
“I have him on the phone right now because I told him I went to the room to get all my money. I see him. I think i see him walking,” said the woman.
“Ma’am I want you to stay quiet then okay,” said the operator.
“I see the police,” said the woman.
When deputies arrived they learned the woman had two cell phones. She used one to call police from the hotel and she left the other in the suspect’s car, which was also connected to her Find My app.
She also gave deputies a play-by-play of the encounter.
“This guy told me to come hang out with him. I’m not from here. We met online, right? I go to hang out with him, and literally, we’re sitting in the car and everything’s cool. We’re getting to know each other a little bit. And he literally pulled the gun out of the middle console,” explained the victim.
“He’s like, ‘Give me everything you got’. He puts it [the gun] to my head and he starts taking everything out of my pockets. He took my phone, my car keys, my watch. He took everything. And he was like, ‘I know you have money. I know you have money.’ And he pulled my room key out. He was like, ‘So you’re at a the motel 6?” said the victim.
The victim said the suspect told her to go to her motel room while staying on the phone with him.
But she said she put him on hold, and called 911 instead.
“He put me on the phone and muted it. He was like, ‘You’re going to go upstairs, you’re going to get all the money you have.’ Because I told I had a boyfriend in the room and when I got upstairs, I switched over and called 911,” said the woman.
When deputies arrived they used the victim’s Find My app connected to her second cell phone to track down the suspect, 26-year-old Elijah Silva El-Shabazz.
Deputies followed his car until he was involved in a crash and then took him into custody.
El-Shabazz is facing a slew of charges including armed kidnapping to commit a felony and robbery with a firearm.
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