Brothers Jeffry Arista, 32, and Jonathan Arista, 29, and Raymond Gomez are facing charges including kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, aggravated assault and battery, records showed
The bizarre incident unfolded Friday morning when the victim was leaving his Fort Lauderdale home and was approached by one of the kidnappers, who was armed and wearing police attire with a ballistic vest and gold badge on his belt, an arrest affidavit said.
Once they arrived at the Plantation home, they were met by a third kidnappper, who removed his mask and started to question the victim and asked him to identify himself, “implying they had kidnapped the wrong individual,” the affidavit said.
Even after realizing they had the wrong person, the kidnappers forced the man into a bathroom, covered his face with four or five black masks and started waterboarding him by pouring buckets of water on him, the affidavit said.
They also threatened to kill him while pointing guns, Tasers and an electric drill at him, authorities said.
The kidnappers learned the intended target and the victim’s coworker was at their place of business, the Booby Trap gentlemen’s club in Pompano Beach, so they took the victim there in a Porsche, authorities said.
Once there, the kidnappers ordered the victim to go inside and lure out the intended target, but once inside the victim called law enforcement, the affidavit said.
All three suspects were taken into custody, authorities said.
“I gotta tell you judge, in the history of kidnappings, this would be the first time someone gets kidnapped then taken to a strip club, I’ve never heard of that before,” he said.