A Memphis kidnapping victim was saved by a GameStop employee who realized something was amiss after being shown an unsent text message on a phone.
The intervention by the GameStop employee ended a nightmare that had begun the previous day. The kidnapping victim told police that Derrickus Brown, 27, and another many known only as "Murder" had tied him up at gunpoint, WREG-3 reported.
The victim told police he was driven around for hours and forced to withdraw $6,000. Later, the victim told police he was forced to go to Walmart, where they tried to buy several items, but the victim's card was declined, the station reported.
They eventually ended up at Mr King Jewelers, which is located next door to GameSpot. Brown and the victim attempted to buy a $900 watch. Anees Zaheer told WREG-3 the transaction was denied because the name on the card didn't match the ID being shown.
The men then went next door to GameStop, where the victim knew the store manager, Fox 13 Memphis reported. The station said that, according to police, the manager recognized the man as being in distress. At one point, he showed the manager his phone, and there was an unsent text message that said he'd been kidnapped.
Police were called, and they located Brown's 2015 Mercedes in the drive-through ATM of a Regions Bank, rescuing the kidnapped man, Fox 13 reported, quoting Brown's arrest affidavit.
Brown faces charges of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of possession of a controlled substance—marijuana, one count of possessing a drug without a prescription, one count of unlawful possession of a weapon, and two counts of attempted aggravated robbery.
