Men charged in kidnapping out on bond

A family member of an alleged kidnapping victim says she fears for her life after the men charged in the crime were released from jail on bond.

"We are all in fear," said the woman, who asked not to be identified because she's afraid the suspects will come after her. "If they can pay $28,000 bond, they can pay somebody $500 to kill me."

Abraham Augustin and Lorrance Dais were arrested Friday and booked on charges of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery in connection with the kidnapping of Robert Jordan, court records show.

The men, charged with kidnapping the 20-year-old Thursday and tying him to a tree, made bond and were released from jail, a Hamilton County Jail employee said Tuesday.

The jail employee said the pair faced $70,000 bonds on each of the two charges, so bail would be 10 percent of each bond, or $7,000 for each charge. The bonds were set by a Hamilton County magistrate.

No one in the Hamilton County magistrates' office answered the phone Tuesday afternoon.

The men are scheduled to appear Friday in Hamilton County General Sessions Court, records show.

Chattanooga police said Mr. Jordan was tied to a tree for several hours in a pasture off Georgetown Road in Cleveland, Tenn., while his two kidnappers repeatedly called his mother, Deirdre Watkins, demanding $4,200 for his safe return.

After receiving the ransom demand Thursday, Ms. Watkins raced to her bank but also called 911. Within 10 minutes, several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, were on the case, police said.

Ms. Watkins withdrew money from her bank account to pay the ransom, police said.

Mr. Jordan's kidnappers were angry because he had facilitated a drug deal in which someone sold them false drugs, Chattanooga police said.

Mr. Dais was left with Mr. Jordan in the pasture, but apparently got worried when his partner didn't return and set off walking with the victim along Highway 60, police said.

Investigators found Mr. Jordan's approximate location using GPS coordinates of the mobile phone used to call Ms. Watkins, police said, and picked both men up.

Curtis Smith, Mr. Jordan's cousin, told police he was with Mr. Jordan when he was kidnapped. Court records show Mr. Smith was robbed of money and other items from his pockets.

Staff writer Adam Crisp contributed to this story.