Man Tied Up, Beaten During Home Invasion In Rosedale, Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A search was under way Sunday night for a group of men who kidnapped a Queens man from his home and assaulted him.
As CBS2's Dave Carlin reported, what started out in Rosedale ended up with the man abandoned miles away in Ozone Park.
Police said the victim endured hours of torture by suspects trying to shake him down for cash they believed to be in a safe for a business run by the man.
It began when the 28-year-old victim returned to his home on 149th Street in Rosedale, Queens early Sunday, and he was snatched in the driveway.
Police said five men pushed him in to a vehicle and drove him around Queens, at times punching and slashing him.
They finally put him out on a sidewalk several miles away in Ozone Park.
The injured victim walked up 88th Street to Liberty Avenue to a deli, where there is a 24-hour window. The clerk behind the window called 911 for the man.
The victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center where he was stable late Sunday.
"I just saw blood on his face," said an Ozone Park resident named Rocky.
Rocky was at the deli buying items at the walk up window, and said he overheard some of what the victim told police.
"He said, 'Yo, I was kidnapped -- that's what he said," Rocky said.
Police said a woman who should have been safe inside the man's Rosedale home was also dragged in to the terror.
That was because while the suspects had the man they took his house keys.
Some of the suspects returned to the man's home, and police said the woman inside was pressured to hand over cash.
When she said there was none, the men took her wallet and left.
She was not seriously injured.
"Hopefully they do catch the guys," said Teo Villas. "It does make me feel less safe."
"It's definitely scary and it will make you kind of keep your eye out more," said neighbor Sepia Owen-Villas.
The male victim is expected to make a full recovery.
Police believe the suspects used more than one vehicle during the crime.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
