A woman and two men are facing charges after police say they kidnapped, robbed and badly beat a man while holding him captive in a mobile home in Davie, and it's possible they may be targeting other undocumented immigrants in similar crimes.
Natalie Williams, 34, was arrested early Thursday on charges including robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery and kidnapping, according to an arrest report. Joshua Reiff and 31-year-old Andres Rafael were also arrested, police said.
According to the report, the victim told investigators he was driving on State Road 84 on Sunday when Williams and a man asked for a ride. He initially refused but reluctantly let them in and agreed to give them a ride, the report said.
As they drove, the victim noticed that Williams was holding a gun on her lap, the report said. She pointed it at him and told him to drive to a mobile home in the 600 block of Southwest 131st Terrace, the report said.
The man had his head covered with a cloth and he was led into the mobile home, where he was tied to a chair, the report said. Inside the mobile home, Williams and six men took turns beating him, the report said.
The group stole $1,300 in cash that the victim had on him and forced him to give them his debit card PIN so they could take more cash out, the report said. They also took about $4,000 worth of tools he had in his vehicle, the report said.
The group threatened to kill the victim if he told police and mentioned he would be deported since he's an undocumented immigrant, the report said. Williams also threatened to tell police that he raped her if she were questioned, the report said.
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"Williams mentioned several times that they should kill [the victim] because he's already seen too much," the report said.
After keeping the man tied to a chair for about 12 hours, he was allowed to leave. He went to a local health center for treatment.
The victim later identified Williams in a photo lineup, and she was arrested at the mobile home, along with the other two suspects. They were in the process of being booked into jail Thursday afternoon, and attorney information wasn't available.
The report said Williams denied any involvement in the kidnapping and robbery and claimed she was battered by the victim during an attempted rape, but police said her story didn't add up.
"We believe those allegations are false because she was not able to put any logical story together of this alleged rape," Davie Police Sgt. Mark Leone said. "She originally told us that she had known this gentleman for twelve years, however she didn’t know his name. She said they had spoken many times. We asked for some type of verification on that, she didn’t have a phone. She doesn’t remember the last time she spoke to him, which is all, you know, nothing matched up with that, with her story."
Police said their investigation is ongoing and they believe there may be more victims.
"It is believed that this group is targeting undocumented immigrants and robbing them for their cash. We believe that they target these undocumented immigrants because they are less likely to report being victim of a crime to the police," officials said in a statement.
