POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Quick thinking by Florida Highway Patrol troopers may have saved a kidnapping victim, as reported by our sister station WKMG in Orlando.
Jeremy Mason, 29, was arrested on Friday after troopers responded to a “Be On the Lookout” alert for a white Chevrolet Silverado traveling westbound on State Road 400. Dispatchers reported a woman inside the vehicle was yelling that she had been kidnapped.
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According to the arrest report, troopers said Mason picked up his girlfriend from her residence, and a verbal argument broke out while the two were in the truck. The victim told authorities Mason refused to let her leave and held her against her will through Volusia, Seminole, Orange, Osceola and Polk counties.
The victim told troopers Mason struck her in the face with a coffee cup and punched her in the arm during a stop at a drive-through. At a 7-Eleven in Orange County, she said she tried to get help — but Mason physically grabbed her, shoved her back into the truck and locked the windows. She said she was struck approximately four to five times and feared for her life after Mason told her, “I want to kill you”, the arrest report states.
A trooper stopped the vehicle near mile marker 8 on State Road 570 in Polk County. Officers observed blood on the victim’s face and bruising on her left arm. The inside of the truck had coffee splattered across the ceiling and door panels.
Mason was charged with kidnapping, battery — domestic violence and aggravated assault. He was transported to the Polk County Jail without incident.