Police: Kidnapping ends with suspect punched, arrested
EUGENE, Ore. -- Two men were kidnapped and ordered to drive around Eugene at gunpoint early Saturday morning, after a man armed with a pistol hid in the backseat of their unlocked car, Eugene Police said.
Officials reported that one of the men eventually overpowered his captor and forced him out of the vehicle.
Police later arrested Jeramey Ortega, 27 of Halsey, and charged him for his involvement in the kidnapping. The two men involved were unharmed.
Police said that the incident started at around 2:30 Saturday morning when two men got into their car parked on Villard Street, leaving to pick up a friend. Ortega was hiding in the back seat of the car.
Eugene Police Lieutenant Doug Mozan said that Ortega surprised the men and threatened them with a gun shortly after they got inside the car.
Ortega ordered the driver to find a gas station to fill up the vehicle, however all the nearby gas stations were closed.
At some point the driver stopped at a convenience store, where one of the hostages escaped and called police.
Lt. Mozan said that while the man was describing what had happened over the phone to officers, Eugene Police dispatch said they received a second call from the driver of the car.
The driver told police that he overpowered his captor after stopping at a shopping center along Coburg Road.
"In a sudden turn of events the second victim got the upper hand and was able to punch the suspect, striking Mr. Ortega what he said was at least 20 times," Lt. Mozan told KVAL News.
The man told police that he stopped the car at a shopping center on Coburg Road and his captor became distracted, giving him the chance to attack.
Ortega then got out of the car and ran. Officers and a K-9 unit searched the area near the shopping center but were unable to find the suspect.
A short time later (around 6 a.m.) police got a call about a man sleeping in a car on Centennial Loop. The investigating officer found that the man asleep inside the vehicle matched the suspect description given for in the kidnapping incident.
Officers identified the man as Jeramey Ortega and arrested him for a parole violation and open warrants in two other jurisdictions.
Eugene Police later charged Ortega with first degree kidnapping, second degree robbery, and unlawful entry of a vehicle, adding that he may face more charges as the investigation continues.
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I'd bet it's more likely the handgun was obtained through less than legal means.
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And RussellM is correct, the jail funding issue must be resolved. these are the kind of creeps that need to remain in jail.....
And how could this suspect with a warrant out for his arrest be able to get a gun? Â Oh, yeah, maybe because in Oregon you don't need a background check to buy a gun in a private sale.
 @Baldr Odinson Or maybe he stole it. Maybe he bought it from another criminal. Who knows. Oregon gun laws are fine.Â
 @givupongod Statistically, around 35-40% of guns used in crimes were acquired through private sale or transfer. Only around 10% were stolen and around 9% acquired from a fence.  I don't know about this particular case, though.  The police rarely reveal, if they bother to find out at all.
 @TAKEDOWN  @Baldr Your threat has been reported.  How typical of armed extremists like yourself.  You are a shame to society.
 @Jason Marks  @givupongod Most private sales do not go through gun shows.
@Baldr Odinson@UsaidWHAT
7. Firearms statistics
A. General Death Rates
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Cause   Number  Heart disease 710,760Cancer 553,091Stroke (cerebrovascular disease) 167,661Chronic lower respiratory diseases 122,009Doctor's negligence 98,329Influenza and pneumonia 65,313Motor-vehicle 43,354Suicides (all kinds, including firearms) 29,350Firearms (Total)*    Suicides    Homicides    Accidents       16,586    10,801    776    28,163Accidents (six causes)    Falls    Poison (solid, liquid)    Choking on food or other object    Drowning    Fires, flames    Firearms       13,322    12,757    4,313    3,402    3,377    776     Homicides (all instruments) 16,765Source: Except for the figure on doctor's negligence, the above information is for 2000 and is taken from National Safety Council, Injury Facts: 2003 Edition, at 10, 19-20, 129. The number of yearly deaths attributed to doctor's negligence is based on the Harvard Medical Practice Study (1990) which is cited in Kleck, Point Blank, at 43.(127)
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 @Baldr Odinson  @givupongod yellow journalism again..
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National Institute of Justice reports:Â
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" Gun shows are NOT a primary source of illegal guns for criminals. According to two government studies, the National Institute of Justice reported in 1997 that "less than two percent [of criminals] reported obtaining [firearms] from a gun show."(10) And the Bureau of Justice Statistics revealed in 2001 that less than one percent of firearm offenders acquired their weapons at gun shows.(11)"
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footnotes:Â 10 National Institute of Justice, "Homicide in Eight U.S. Cities: Trends, Context, and Policy Implications," Research Report (December 1997), p. 99.11 Caroline Wolf Harlow, "Firearm Use by Offenders: Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities," Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report (November 2001), p. 1.
 @UsaidWHAT  @Baldr Odinson Where do you get your erroneous data?
 @Baldr Odinson Â
There was a stabbing in down town Eugene Friday night...a guy was stabbed six times! Oh, and with a knife!!!
# 1 killer is medical mal practice #2 drunk drivers # 3 knives #4 hammers # 5 guns!!!
Again, the Yellow Journalism professor has his propaganda machine at full speed.Â
Stating trash like it was fact.Â
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IT doesn't say how the gun was acquired,  however, most criminals don't do it at "full retail"
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They probably will let him go due to 'overcrowding'...and he will be free to offend again...
Always lock your car. And this guy will do about 2 hours in jail.
and how long will he stay in jail? 45 minutes? We need to address the early releases due to over crowding.
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first it was a car. now its a truck?? i am confused kval. what about the gun? no mention of the police finding it?
maybe you didnt read the story when it was first published as i did. they added a photo and rerwrote there story, and di change some of what they published. sorry i jumeped the gun on my comment. now go shoot yourself!
 @footeb1 Well that's a bit of an over-reaction.Â
@PleaseBeSmart @footeb1 He'd better be careful somebody might believe
him....naw he 's only a 24 and still learning=)
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@Jason Marks @footeb1 I think most people don't read the entire article. Just skim over it and then ask stupid questions. Seems like I see comments like this on a lot of articles.
@Jaded ---guilty as charged!