BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Two men were arrested Christmas Eve after being accused of carjacking and kidnapping a woman in Brevard County, according to the Cocoa Police Department.
Police said they were dispatched to 615 N. Cocoa Blvd. on Saturday morning after reports came in about a vehicle theft.
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Upon arrival, they found a woman who told them she stopped at the intersection of Azalea Lane and North Fiske Boulevard earlier in the day when a Dodge Journey blocked her path, police said.
The woman told police that five people got out of the car — of which she recognized four — and approached her, according to the police department.
An arrest report shows that the woman said one of the people — Travis Wilson, 44 — approached her with a firearm, demanded she exit her car and forced her into the passenger seat of the Dodge. Afterward, the woman said the other four people got into her car and drove off, the report shows.
Police said Wilson began to drive around the city with the woman while threatening to shoot her, at one point stopping to have the woman buy cigarettes for him from a nearby store.
According to the woman, Wilson eventually drove her to 1102 Azalea Lane, where he forced her to sit down on a bench swing with him. police said. However, police noted that the woman was “unclear” about how she escaped from Wilson.
Police added that her first statement didn’t mention the kidnapping and only described Wilson and the unknown person who took her car, who was later identified as 41-year-old Laueriano Alvarado.
Later Saturday afternoon, police said went to 1102 Azalea Lane and found both Wilson and Alvarado. Reports show that Wilson was driving the Dodge Journey and that Alvarado was driving the woman’s vehicle.
Wilson identified himself to police as Marcus Knight, though his real identity was ultimately discovered, police said. According to the police department, Wilson has been convicted eight times in the past for felonies.
During a search of the Dodge, police found a firearm that matched the description provided by the woman, police said. In addition, police said they found MDPV, an illegal narcotic, on Alvarado.
Wilson and Alvarado were arrested and taken to the Brevard County Jail.
Wilson faces charges of carjacking, kidnapping, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery, improper exhibition of a firearm, giving a false ID to law enforcement and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He is held on no bond.
Alvarado faces charges of possessing a controlled substance, carjacking, kidnapping and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is held on a bond of $87,000.
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