A Florida man is accused of kidnapping a 17-year-old girl and forcing her to drive through a coronavirus checkpoint in the Florida Keys, according to Monroe County Sheriff's Office officials. Alexander Michael Sardinas, 37, was arrested after the incident on Thursday on charges of felony imprisonment, police said. Sardinas and a 43-year-old woman had tried to drive through the highway checkpoint earlier in the day but they were barred from entering for not having proper identification or paperwork to prove that they lived or worked on the islands, according to police. Sardinas then allegedly kidnapped the teenager, who had valid identification and a sticker to prove that she is a resident, to sneak into the Keys.
“Sardinas threatened to hurt the victim if she refused,” the sheriff’s office said. “Sardinas threatened to hurt the victim if she touched her cell phone.” After driving through the checkpoint with the couple and dropping them off, the girl called a family member, who notified authorities. The woman has not been arrested, but the sheriff’s office indicated that “more arrests and charges may be pending.”
Read it at The Miami Herald
