LAUDERDALE LAKES, FLA. (WSVN) - A man who was apparently kidnapped in chains from a gas station near Fort Lauderdale has been found safe at a convenience store in Lauderdale Lakes, and his alleged kidnappers have been arrested.
Surveillance video captured detectives talking to Kevin Lee, the victim, outside the 19th Street Food Shop in Lauderdale Lakes, Thursday night.
Detectives from the Broward Sheriff’s Office said they were desperately trying to find him because they believed he was in danger.
Surveillance cameras showed the victim with chains around his neck and hands from a gas station on Sunrise Boulevard near Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday.
Deputies said two men held Lee against his will. The video shows one of the men slap Lee in the face, knocking him to the ground. Another angle shows them forcing him into a car.
Two days after the incident, it appears Lee is fine.
According to someone who works at the convenience store, earlier Thursday, detectives asked them if they had seen Lee.
Someone said yes, so detectives came back at night to look at their video when, they said, Lee coincidentally stopped by the store to buy a drink.
A surveillance camera captured an ambulance taking Lee to a hospital, where they are double-checking his injuries.
7News has learned that Lee is expected to be OK.
“We located one of the suspects and the vehicle,” BSO spokesperson Keyla Concepcion said. “Shortly after that, we located the second suspect.”
Authorities said the two men behind the alleged attack, identified as Terrail Jenkins and Kenneth Douglas, are in custody and have since appeared in court.
While in court, defense attorneys said the victim stole something from the men, and their intention was to get it back but not hurt him.
Judge Jackie Powell, however, disagreed.
Powell said in court, “So a person chained several times with chains and chains around his hands and being dragged and pushed into a car by someone is not grounds for finding for kidnapping? Is that what you’re saying?”
Detectives are continuing to investigate the case.
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