BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Three men were arrested and preliminarily charged after beating a man and tying him to a tree in rural Owen County, Indiana, police say.
Officers with the Bloomington Police Department were called to an apartment on Gourley Pike Monday to investigate a possible kidnapping. Witnesses said they saw two people go into the apartment and forcibly remove a man from it, then put him into an SUV.
The officers say they knew of ongoing drug issues in the area, so they were able to develop suspects quickly. Police say they determined Shawn Arnett, 19, and Jackie Johnson, 19, were the ones who dragged the 21-year-old victim out of the apartment, according to a release.
Arnett and Johnson were found in the 5000 block of Orange Grove Road in Gosport, Indiana, where they were taken into custody. During an interview, Arnett told police he was in the apartment, but the victim left after an argument. Johnson named another person during an interview, Dylan Lutz, 20.
Lutz told police they picked up the victim, beat him, and left him in a field. Eventually, police say Johnson told them where the victim was tied to a tree -- off Stone Mountain Road in Owen County.
Police found the victim in a ravine. He had been there for more than 24 hours. He was taken to Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital and is reportedly stable.
Shawn Arnett, Jackie Johnson, and Dylan Lutz were preliminarily charged with kidnapping, aggravated battery, criminal confinement, and burglary.
Note: The above photo is of Shawn Arnett in 2016.
