A 37-year-old Florida man has been arrested after he allegedly kidnapped a 17-year-old girl to drive him through a coronavirus checkpoint.
The man, Alexander Sardinas (37), from the Florida Keys, tried to pass through a coronavirus highway checkpoint in a taxi.
The checkpoint was to prevent non-residents entering the area and potentially spreading Covid-19.
The police at the checkpoint turned Sardinas and his girlfriend away from the checkpoint for not being able to prove they were residents of the area.
Sardinas then approached a 17-year-old girl in a nearby supermarket and threatened to harm her if she did not drive them across the checkpoint. The girl did as asked and drove them through the checkpoint without alerting the police to the threat as they checked her driver’s license, reportedly too scared to ask for help.
Once the girl had dropped Sardinas and his girlfriend off, she phoned a relative who then contacted the police.
Sardinas was found soon after and questioned by police, where he did not deny that he was in the car with the girl earlier. He was then arrested.
Local police said in a statement: ‘I am relieved this suspect is currently sitting in jail and the young victim in this case was not seriously hurt.’