A DoorDash delivery driver in Florida was kidnapped while making a delivery before being rescued by family members who tracked her phone, police announced in a press release last week. The suspected kidnapper managed to evade capture but was later arrested after allegedly robbing a different woman the next day.
The kidnapping occurred on April 18 when the victim, a woman in her early 20s, pulled up to a Residence Inn in Tampa to make a DoorDash delivery. When she walked up to the hotel, a man approached and pulled out a gun, forcing her to re-enter her car.
The young woman was wearing AirPods at the time and was on the line with her girlfriend, who quickly realized the situation had turned dangerous.
The victim’s family called police, who were dispatched to the Residence Inn.
In the meantime, the DoorDash driver was forced at gunpoint to drive to the Belara Lakes Apartments, where her kidnapper sexually battered her, police wrote in an April 20 news release.
“The victim’s family, who had been tracking her phone, arrived at the apartment complex and rescued her from the car,” the press release reads.
When the victim’s family confronted the suspect, he fired multiple shots at them. One bullet struck a family member of the victim’s girlfriend before he fled the area.
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The DoorDash driver and the family member who was shot were both transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but the suspect remained at large.
Police released a composite sketch of the suspect based on the victims’ descriptions and appealed to the public for information about his whereabouts.
“It is clear this suspect has no regard for human life,” interim chief Lee Bercaw said at the time. “Detectives are actively gathering evidence in an effort to quickly identify and apprehend him. I am urging anyone who may have seen or heard something nearby to please call us with those details, no matter how minimal they may seem to be. It could be the information we need to arrest this criminal before he’s able to hurt another member of our community.”
Police didn’t need to wait for long, however. A day after the abduction, the suspect allegedly became involved in a separate incident, this time a robbery, police said in an updated news release on April 22.
In the early morning of April 19, the suspect allegedly stole a backpack from a woman in her early 40s after throwing her to the ground and punching her. He then fled the area.
Detectives working the initial kidnapping case collaborated with officers assigned to the robbery. The robbery investigation eventually led police to Tampa Inn, where they arrested a man late Friday night.
Police charged 38-year-old Joseph Killins with armed kidnapping, robbery with a firearm, armed sexual battery and aggravated battery with a weapon for the April 18 incident. He was additionally charged with robbery for the April 19 events.
“This criminal is now off the streets thanks to the tireless efforts of every Tampa Police Department employee and the assistance provided by members of our community,” Bercaw said after the suspect was arrested. “My thoughts remain with the victims. I hope this arrest brings them a sense of comfort knowing that he will now face justice for the crimes he chose to commit.”
Killins is currently behind bars awaiting trial.
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