Handyman Allegedly Kidnapped, Forced to Do Repairs
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Photodisc/Thinkstock(SANTA CLARA, Calif.) — A Northern California handyman was allegedly beaten and forced to do repairs around the home of two suspects who police say lured him to their home after a dispute about work he’d done for a relative of one of the alleged assailants.
Jason DeJesus, 36, and Chanelle Troedson, 33, have been arrested on charges of suspicion of assault, kidnapping and false imprisonment after allegedly luring the unnamed man to their San Jose, Calif., home Monday. The couple held the man at their home for seven hours before he daringly escaped from a nearby gas station where they had taken him to buy supplies, police said.
After some conflict between the victim and one of DeJesus’ relatives, DeJesus requested the victim’s presence at the house to conduct “repair work” on an appliance for them, Sgt. Jose Cardoza of the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office said.
“There was some back and forth with the original person, and the victim wanted to get paid. Then DeJesus got involved,” Cardoza told ABC News. “He contacted the victim, and said, ‘Maybe we can work something out while you’re down here. Why don’t you do some work?’”
When the alleged victim arrived at the suspect’s house, police said, he was immediately assaulted, held against his will and repeatedly threatened for several hours. He was forced to repair appliances in their kitchen and do other repairs around the house, Cardoza said.
After allegedly being held in the home for hours, the couple then allegedly forced the man to accompany them as they drove his truck to the home of the relative in Santa Clara, Calif., where he had originally worked. But they stopped at a Chevron gas station on the way.
DeJesus and Troedson went into the gas station’s convenience store, and after warning him to stay in the car, left the victim alone at the pump, police said. Within a matter of seconds, the man dashed to the nearby home of Eric Hedrick, where he quickly called 911.
“A blond-haired gentleman came to my door, knocked on the door frantically asking if he could use my phone.,” Hedrick told KGO-TV. “Apparently, he said he’d been kidnapped and beaten, and I could visibly see he had some injuries.”
After receiving the victim’s call, San Jose police officers arrived at the gas station, where the couple were attempting to leave in the vehicle, Cardoza said.
The victim, who suffered minor injuries, refused to let police take him to the hospital, Cardoza told ABC News.
“He was conscious,” Cardoza said. “He mentioned that he was going to go on his own to get cleared [of any medical issues]. If anything, he was scared, terrified of the whole ordeal.”
DeJesus and Troedson are being held in the Santa Clara County jail and will be arraigned Thursday, at which point they will be assigned legal counsel, police said.
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