Kidnapping and Robbery Victim Uninjured after 3 1/2 Hour Ordeal

The suspect vehicle in the case is an older White Ford Explorer with unknown Oregon tree design license plate

Victim was kidnapped from the 3800 Block of River Road N. Photo By: Tim King

(Keizer) - Police say a Salem man is OK after being kidnapped and robbed in Keizer Monday evening from the 3800 block of River Road North. The experience started between 5:00 and 5:15 PM, lasted three and a half hours, and ended with a gunshot being fired into the victim`s car while he was inside.

Keizer Police Captain Jeff Kuhns says officers first learned of the kidnapping and robbery incident at 8:45 PM, approximately 3 ½ hours after it began.

The 37-year old Salem man told officers he was kidnapped at gunpoint between 5:00 and 5:15 p.m. after he parked his vehicle in the parking lot of the Keizer Village business complex. He said he had just arrived at this location by himself and was preparing to visit a nearby business. The victim`s vehicle was an oxidized red 1994 Dodge Colt two-door.

After parking his vehicle, the victim says he was confronted by the suspect who was displaying a semi-automatic handgun. The suspect is alleged to have entered the front passenger`s seat of the victim`s vehicle and demanded the victim drive from the area.

The victim told investigators that he complied with the suspects` demands and drove north on River Road from the parking lot. They continued northbound on River Road traveling outside the City of Keizer for approximately 10 miles until reaching Lebrun Road NE where they turned east, continued east on Lebrun, and traveled to approximately the 7200 block where the suspect demanded the victim stop the vehicle.

Moments after stopping the vehicle the victim noticed a second vehicle approach from behind and pass their location then stop a few yards in front of them.

The kidnapping victim says the suspect exited his vehicle and approached him near the driver`s door where he proceeded to rob his wallet, stereo, and the keys to the vehicle.

After the robbery, the man said that the suspect discharged the gun he had been carrying, shooting a bullet through the rear passenger`s window directly behind the driver`s seat.

The suspect left the victim in his vehicle, got into the other vehicle that had arrived, and then fled the area as a passenger in that vehicle. The victim was not injured. The suspect vehicle was described as an older model white Ford Explorer with an unknown Oregon tree design license plate. This vehicle was last seen driving east from the area on Lebrun Road.

The victim fled the area on foot and managed to telephone a relative after reaching an area of safety several miles away in Woodburn. The relative responded to Woodburn to pick the victim up and provided him with transportation back to Salem where he contacted the Keizer Police Department at about 8:45 PM to report this incident. Kuhns says the incident remains under investigation at this time. Anyone who may have observed the suspect, or suspect vehicle at or near the Keizer Village business complex, or when the victim traveled north through the city during peak traffic time, is asked to contact Detective Rodney Bamford at 503-390-3713 Ext. 3457.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, approximately 20 to 30 years old, 5`5" to 5`8" with a slender build, black hair short on top / to the shoulder in the back, with a thick mustache. He was reportedly wearing a white short sleeve t-shirt.