Deputies in north San Diego are investigating a kidnapping involving three people who allegedly tried to rescue a family member they believed was being brainwashed by a religious community.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said three suspects were arrested in connection with the kidnapping of a 23-year-old man from the Twelve Tribes Community/Church in Vista Friday.
Deputies stopped the bizarre kidnapping around 5 p.m. in the 1500 block of Foothill Drive.
The sheriff’s department said a deputy responding to a different incident in the area thought he heard a car crash on a nearby street. He then saw two vehicles – a gray van and a red van – speed away from the scene.
Believing this was a hit-and-run, the deputy called for backup. Additional deputies tried to pull over both vans, but both vehicles failed to stop.
A pursuit began, but ended shortly thereafter on Foothill Drive.
At that point, deputies detained four people from the red van and one person from the gray van. While asking questions, deputies learned the incident was not a hit-and-run, but rather a chase that stemmed from a kidnapping that had happened minutes earlier at a house in Vista that also serves as the Twelve Tribes church.
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Investigators said the gray van was pursuing the red van in which the victim was being held by the suspects.
The suspects – Andres Martinez-Manso, 51; Eliza Martinez, 25; and Robert Harry Matthew, 25 – are all related to the kidnapping victim and told deputies they were trying to rescue the man from the church because they believed he was being brainwashed.
The incident remains under investigation.
The Twelve Tribes operates religious communities all over the United States. The group began in 1972 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Members in north San Diego live together in a home in the 2600 block of Foothill Drive that doubles as a church. The Twelve Tribes also has a farm in Valley Center, about 18 miles away from the Vista location. Members also own The Yellow Deli, a restaurant located at 315 East Broadway in the Vista Village.
According to a statement from the church, Robert Martinez has been a member for five years. He has a wife who is expecting their first child in July.
The church's statement went on to say that the events Saturday were a surprise and that Robert's family has been welcomed at the church throughout the time Robert has been a member.
"We are not hidden or inaccessible to anyone, including our family members. In fact we continually invite and welcome folks into our very special life," the statement reads. "We have no ill will towards Robert’s family, and have hope of reconciliation and greater understanding in the future."
