Milton resident Nazarene Knotts, 22, remains in Santa Rosa County Jail with a $50,000 bond after being charged with kidnapping and robbery following an incident on Friday, July 24.
According to his arrest report from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office, Knotts is allegedly responsible for kidnapping and robbing an unidentified woman who arrived at his residence on Buckskin Drive.
In a sworn statement provided by the victim, the woman claimed she came to Knotts residence where she found both Knotts and another person in living room. In her statement provided in the report, the victim said Knotts motioned the other male to put a bag over her head when the two men took her to a bedroom.
The statement said the two men threw the victim on a bed where they tied her up with sheets and duct tape. The female told deputies the men searched her for money and asking her where the money was. The victim told the Knotts and the male she did not have any money when she was then thrown to the floor. During this incident, the victim stated she heard the other man tell a man named “Jay” to shoot her if she moves. In her statement, the victim believes the men held a gun on her, however she did see a gun, the report said.
The victim was then taken outside and placed in the trunk of her car. In the report, the victim said Knotts and the other man drove around with her in the trunk in the car for hours. On occasion the men would stop the vehicle to open the trunk and see how the victim was doing, they also made several stops along the way, the report said. During the ride the victim said she was able to free herself from the sheets and duct tape. According to the report, it was when the car stopped and the victim heard the trunk latch pop, that she opened the trunk and jumped outside the vehicle.
In her statement, the victim said she was able to get away from her captures and flee to a neighborhood where she knocked on doors until a woman answered and called police.
In the report, the victim told police she didn't know why the two men targeted her other than the reason they thought she had money.
The victim's abandoned vehicle was located in Crestview, by the city's police department. Investigators found ripped linens along with long sleeve shirts tied into knots and pieces of duct tape in the vehicle's trunk. However after canvassing the nearby area, authorities were unable to locate either of the suspects.
Deputies also questioned a witness on scene at Buckskin Drive, who claimed to see the victim at the residence with Knotts around the time of the incident. However, the witness did not see the other man in which the victim said assisted Knotts in the kidnapping.
With a search warrant, deputies also canvassed the residence on Buckskin Drive in which the incident initially occurred. Inside investigators found matching printed sheets along with duct tape used to bound the victim.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton resident charged with kidnapping, robbery