Austin police began an investigation into what officers believe was a fake kidnapping. A man was found bound and gagged in the trunk of a car Thursday morning.
Mac Newton said he and a landscaper met around 7:00 a.m. in the parking lot in front of a Toys “R” Us in north Austin.
Newton said the landscaper noticed a white car with the driver’s side door open, so he reported it to 311. The two thought the car had been stolen and dumped.
“The door was wide open, the center consoles were open, the glove compartment was open,” explained Newton.
About 10 minutes later, things got even weirder.
“Once we heard the screams and the muffling going on, we instantly kind of freaked out, needed to do something about it, so we popped the trunk,” Newton said.
That’s when they saw a man bound with duct tape.
Newton said he took pictures to preserve evidence, while his client called 911. They then cut the man loose, and the man said didn’t know how he got in the trunk.
“It’s like something out of a movie,” said Newton.
It might as well have been. After Austin police interviewed the man, detectives said he admitted the whole thing was staged. APD is investigating why the man faked his own kidnapping and is looking into possible charges.
(Information from KXAN.com)