09-09-2008, 12:39 AM
A Tampa man who had been kidnapped at gunpoint late Sunday night freed himself by taking hold of the weapon and shooting two of his attackers, killing one of them before fleeing to freedom, Pinellas sheriff's deputies said.
According to the deputies, the kidnapping occurred at 11 p.m. at the Aday Motel at 501 Bayview Blvd. in Oldsmar. The shooting happened moments later inside an automobile.
The victim, Gregory S. Longley, 20, was unhurt.
His teenage attackers had been searching for another man in a dispute over stolen coins when they confronted Longley at the motel and forced him into a white 2000 Chevrolet Malibu, deputies said.
The suspects were identified as Abdusbasiyr A. Blake, 18; Juan Carlos Morales, 17; and Javon Strange, 18.
The men "allegedly kidnapped the victim in hopes that he could lead them to their original target," deputies said.
It was while Strange, who was sitting with Longley in the back seat, put his gun down in his lap and began text messaging that the victim grabbed the weapon, deputies said.
First Longley shot Strange. Then he shot Morales, sitting in the front passenger seat, deputies said.
He then ordered Blake, who was driving the car, to stop the automobile at an undisclosed location. At that point, the victim dialed 911, deputies said.
Blake then drove the wounded men to a McDonald's at 4085 Tampa Road, the deputies said. Restaurant employees also called 911.
Deputies responded to both locations, and paramedics responded to the McDonald's parking lot.
Deputies said they recovered two weapons; the handgun that Longley took from Strange and a second handgun that authorities say Blake (pictured) threw out a window.
Morales was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. Strange, the first teen shot, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Blake was arrested and charged with armed kidnapping and second-degree murder, deputies said.
Monday morning, at a Tampa address listed as Longley's home, a woman who identified herself as his mother declined to speak to a reporter.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article801277.ece
According to the deputies, the kidnapping occurred at 11 p.m. at the Aday Motel at 501 Bayview Blvd. in Oldsmar. The shooting happened moments later inside an automobile.
The victim, Gregory S. Longley, 20, was unhurt.
His teenage attackers had been searching for another man in a dispute over stolen coins when they confronted Longley at the motel and forced him into a white 2000 Chevrolet Malibu, deputies said.
The suspects were identified as Abdusbasiyr A. Blake, 18; Juan Carlos Morales, 17; and Javon Strange, 18.
The men "allegedly kidnapped the victim in hopes that he could lead them to their original target," deputies said.
It was while Strange, who was sitting with Longley in the back seat, put his gun down in his lap and began text messaging that the victim grabbed the weapon, deputies said.
First Longley shot Strange. Then he shot Morales, sitting in the front passenger seat, deputies said.
He then ordered Blake, who was driving the car, to stop the automobile at an undisclosed location. At that point, the victim dialed 911, deputies said.
Blake then drove the wounded men to a McDonald's at 4085 Tampa Road, the deputies said. Restaurant employees also called 911.
Deputies responded to both locations, and paramedics responded to the McDonald's parking lot.
Deputies said they recovered two weapons; the handgun that Longley took from Strange and a second handgun that authorities say Blake (pictured) threw out a window.
Morales was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. Strange, the first teen shot, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Blake was arrested and charged with armed kidnapping and second-degree murder, deputies said.
Monday morning, at a Tampa address listed as Longley's home, a woman who identified herself as his mother declined to speak to a reporter.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article801277.ece