Three men are facing multiple charges after authorities said they kidnapped a man at gunpoint before waterboarding him and threatening to kill him even after realizing they'd meant to kidnap his coworker, who they tried to lure out of a strip club.
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.
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The kidnapper forced the victim into a white Dodge Charger with a police light driven by a second kidnapper, the affidavit said.
The victim was forced to wear a head covering as the kidnappers drove to an Airbnb in Plantation, tossing the victim's phone out of the car along the way, authorities 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.
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The kidnappers confirmed they'd taken the wrong man when they took out his wallet and saw his ID, 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.
The affidavit said the victim "thought he was going to drown."
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 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.
According to the affidavit, Gomez told investigators that he and the Arista brothers were involved in the kidnapping and that they were being directed by another unknown man, who wanted the intended target kidnapped over a monetary debt.
During one of the suspects' appearance in bond court, a defense attorney discussed the bizarre accusations in the case.
"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.
"I was about to say, I think there's a long list of husbands who have claimed exactly that in the past," the judge responded. "We've all been taken against our will."
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, authorities said.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the pending criminal complaint charges.
FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from the Broward Sheriff’s Office and Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
