ARIZONA MAN SURVIVES BEING DUMPED IN DESERT AFTER ROBBERY, KIDNAPPING

Posted by Phoenix Armed Robbery Defense Lawyer Nick Alcock:

Three men are now in custody after two of them forced a 25-year-old man to withdraw money from an ATM before leaving him bound in the desert.

Phoenix police said Michael Luna, 22, and Baron Quezada, 21, approached the victim as he was exiting his truck in the parking lot of an apartment complex near 71st Avenue and Indian School Road just after midnight Wednesday. Quezada produced a handgun and ordered the victim into the back seat of his vehicle. The suspects then took the man to an ATM machine and forced him to withdraw money. The suspects drove the victim to several other locations then blindfolded him and drove him to a home where they met with Amado Nunez, 30.

The victim told police that the three suspects discussed killing him then chose to drive him out to what is believed to be a desert area somewhere in east Maricopa County and left him there with his hands bound and face covered with a blindfold. Police say the victim was somehow able to free himself and managed to walk through the desert for several hours before he was able to find a telephone and call police.

At around 11 a.m. Wednesday, Phoenix police were alerted to a LoJack tracking device activation on the victim’s stolen truck. The vehicle was tracked to a home in the area of Broadway Road and 16th Street where the truck was observed in the backyard. Based on this information, police surrounded the home and saw Nunez leaving. He was taken into custody after a brief foot pursuit. Meanwhile, Luna and Quezada were found and captured in the home.

The victim was able to identify the suspects and all three were booked into Maricopa County Jail on charges related to kidnapping, armed robbery and motor vehicle theft.