Two men are behind bars after detectives say they carjacked a man, tied him up and put him in the back of his own car in Seminole County.
James Burgado and Jayland Harrison went before a Seminole County judge Tuesday afternoon. Both are facing several first degree felony charges.
It happened just after 12:30 a.m. Monday in the parking lot of the Walmart Neighborhood Market, 5216 Red Bug Lake Road.
Deputies say the two took the 28-year-old victim on a four-hour, terrifying journey, forced him to get money out of an ATM, duct-taped him and threw him into the trunk of his own Mercedes before eventually locking him in the bathroom of a group home where the two suspects live.
Deputies said two other residents of that group home helped free the victim. The victim talked to dispatchers while police were on their way.
VICTIM: “I’ve been kidnapped, I’ve been gone for hours, I’ve been held at gunpoint, I’ve been in the backseat of a car. I know this sounds crazy ... but this is real.”
Investigators said the victim did not know his attackers.
The group home off Dike Road in Seminole County is called “The Village,” and is a transitional housing center where those who have aged out of the foster care system can learn to live independently.
A spokesperson released a statement saying:
“The events of this week are the first and only kind of this nature in The Village's eight-year history. The Village and its staff continue to cooperate fully with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and are proud of the two program residents who immediately recognized the situation, stepped up to assist the victim and called authorities.”
Harrison was already out of jail on bond after a shoplifting arrest just before Christmas Day – but he and Burgado will now both remain in jail on no bond and face a judge for arraignment in February.