Kidnap Victim, 55, Escapes From Truck After Wild Ride

A 55-year-old Lake Elsinore man was kidnaped by two men who broke into his trailer, robbed him at knifepoint and then took him along as they drove his truck throughout the area selling his belongings, police said Saturday.

Despite being bound and gagged, James F. Cheney managed to roll out of the back of the truck and call police when his captors stopped to get gas.

The two men drove away from the gas station in San Clemente but were arrested a few minutes later driving south on the San Diego Freeway. They are being held at the San Clemente Jail.

Javier Velez Rodriguez, 22, of Lake Elsinore and Osvaldo De Vazquez Oban, 20, of Tijuana were arrested at 1:10 a.m. Saturday on suspicion of kidnaping and robbery, police said.

Cheney’s ordeal began about 5 p.m. Friday when the two men showed up at his trailer looking for work, San Clemente Police Sgt. Willie Moreno said.

Cheney, who apparently had hired the men on previous occasions to work on his property, told them that he did not need their services. About three hours later, Moreno said, the men came back to Cheney’s trailer, forced themselves inside, tied Cheney up and loaded his belongings into his truck.

“They put him in the truck and threw his satellite dish, televisions, microwave, phones, tools, on top of him,” Moreno said. “Then they took him for a ride.”

Cheney remained tied up in the back of the truck while his captors drove throughout Riverside and Orange counties hawking the stolen property, Moreno said.

After several hours, Cheney managed to free his hands, Moreno said. Cheney found a pen in the back of the truck and wrote the word “help” on a piece of paper. He showed his note to passing motorists to no avail.

Cheney then started throwing things out of the truck to catch somebody’s attention but that didn’t work either, Moreno said. Finally, when his abductors stopped to get gas, he rolled out of the truck as they pulled away.

Cheney suffered several bruises and hurt his head during the ordeal.

“It was a wild one,” Moreno said.