Kidnapped car salesman: 'I hope they go to jail forever'
HOUSTON — The 22-year-old Houston car salesman who was kidnapped and thrown into the trunk during a test drive Monday is recovering at home after his ordeal.
Jose Martinez said Tuesday that he noticed something suspicious when the customer drove past the Gillman Dodge dealership in southwest Houston during the test drive. Martinez asked the man to give him the keys, but the suspect punched him. He said two other men pulled up in a second car. They beat Martinez, tied him up with tape and his own belt and put him in the trunk.
"I asked them why they were doing it while I was in the trunk," said Martinez. "They told me to stop asking questions. They were taping me up and I said do you want money? What do you need? Let me go, you can have the car. They said 'No, you're coming with us.' "
Martinez continued, "They were celebrating, laughing, saying 'we got the car.' All that time, I got out of the tape almost instantly and got the belt off.
"I called my GM, I let him know what was going on really quick. I sent a co-worker of mine who is a really good friend of mine, I sent him my current location and put my tracking on."
He said the men heard him trying to escape from the trunk, so they came back to check on him. That's when he was able to try to run away. They chased him and started fighting again.
"His friend came in and he had a gun. He dropped it, because he doesn't know how to fight whatsoever. I fired at him, and the other guy started running. The gun had no more bullets in it."
The three suspects got away. Police continue to search for the men.
"I hope they get caught, that's it. I hope they go to jail forever," Martinez said.
His mom says she believes the crooks certainly got more than they bargained for.
"He said, 'I fought mom.' I said, 'I know, you did good. You did really good,' " said Melissa Martinez. "He wasn't just going to lay there and let them do whatever they wanted to do. I didn't raise him like that."
Her son remains bedridden at home with fractures to his nose and gashes all over his body after what should've been a routine day on the job — a day he wasn't even supposed to be working.
The violent criminals then abandoned the car on the side of the road.
Police used his phone, which was still in the trunk, to track two of the suspects who were in the stolen car. A dramatic chase ended in a crash, and all three suspects fled.
The crooks may have left without the car, but Martinez' mother said they stole her son's watch and a ring that was given to him by his father.
Martinez said he intends to return to work as soon as he is healed.