MIAMI – A man became “upset” after finding out the woman he just had a sexual encounter with was transgender, so he and another man held her at gunpoint at a Miami motel and demanded ransom from her friends and family, according to police.
Police arrested Joshua Debarge Lucas, 34, of Opa-locka, on Friday.
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According to a Miami police arrest report, the armed kidnapping happened on Jan. 14 at the Saturn Motel, located at 6995 Biscayne Blvd. in the city’s MiMo District.
Police said the victim, a transgender woman who “suffers a speech impediment and other issues,” texted a friend “call me” just before 5:45 that evening.
The friend, joined by another friend, called the victim on FaceTime and saw her in tears after she picked up.
After asking her what was wrong and if she was OK, Lucas appeared in the frame and demanded $200 or he would “hurt” her, the report states. He told the friend that the money was for “being disrespected” by the victim, according to police.
When asked how he was disrespected, police said Lucas “stated that he is a (Black) Hebrew Israelite and his religion frowns upon homosexual interactions.”
During the call, Lucas said that during the sexual encounter, they were both “high” and, using a slur targeting people with mental disabilities, said, he thought the victim was “just a retarded (woman),” the arrest report states.
Police said he became upset after sobering up and realizing the woman was transgender.
Authorities said an accomplice was on the call with Lucas and told them where to bring the money. The witnesses told police that they could see that one of the men had a gun and screen recorded the call.
Police said the witnesses drove to the Miami police station after hanging up and officers responded to the hotel, where they located the victim, but not Lucas or the other man.
Authorities eventually identified Lucas and tracked him down to his Opa-locka home Friday, the arrest report states.
The report states that Lucas admitted to being upset after finding out after the pair’s sexual encounter that the victim was transgender. He claimed, police said, that he had only asked for $20 to repay him for an Uber and that the witnesses “heard $200.”
“He denied holding the victim against their will; however, he stated that following the incident the (accomplice) told him how the incident was like a hostage situation,” the investigating officer wrote in the report.
Police arrested Lucas on charges of kidnapping with a weapon and threats or extortion with prejudice and he was being held without bond in the Metro West Detention Center as of Monday evening.
Authorities haven’t identified the alleged accomplice.