BLUE ASH, Ohio — Four people have been arrested after Blue Ash police said they received a call reporting a possible abduction from a hotel on Kenwood Road.
According to a press release from Blue Ash police, investigators responded to the Extended Stay Hotel on Kenwood Road for the report of the abduction of a man who police said went to the hotel after arranging a date online.
Police said they believe 23-year-old Kobiljon Makhmudiv, 27-year-old Umida Fozilova, 27-year-old Bakhodir Isroilov and 22-year-old Bakhromjon Isroilov kidnapped the man, forcing him into a minivan in the parking lot of the Extended Stay.
From there, prosecutors allege the four drove the man to an apartment in Sharonville. The prosecution claims all four then attacked the man, striking him in the head, face, chest and arm before binding his ankles and wrists.
Then, prosecutors said they contacted the man's family and demanded money in exchange for the man's life; The family sent $2,000 and prosecutors said the four threatened the man's life if he went to police.
Prosecutors said part of the evidence considered in the case were social media conversations, though authorities have not disclosed what information was gathered from those conversations.
The 911 call made that day was from a man who claimed his friend had been taken from a parking lot on Kenwood Road, but the 911 caller struggled to provide more information on what happened that day to dispatchers. The call ended with the man speaking with an officer who'd arrived at the man's location on Kenwood Road.
All four of the defendants were aided in court by a translator, who said they all speak Uzbek.
Defense attorneys for three of the alleged suspects told the judge they don't even know the alleged victim.
"Your honor, she has no idea why she's here," said the defense attorney for Fozilova. "She has never met this gentleman, she was in her home when the police came in and arrested her."
Makhmudov's attorney, however, said his client does know the alleged victim but he dismissed the crimes as a lie crafted to avoid a debt between the two.
"My client loaned the alleged victim money," said Makhmudov's defense attorney in court. "The alleged victim drove from New York to pay my client back. He paid a portion of the money. They had lunch together, along with the co-defendents. The alleged victim then concocted this story that is clearly ripped from a movie plot in order to not pay the full balance owed. My client denies these fantastically fabricated allegations."
The prosecution pointed to the "organized criminal behavior" portrayed in the allegations leveled against all four and requested high bonds.
The judge ruled each defendant hand over their passport and set the same bond for each person accused: $50,000 for the abduction charge and $75,000 for the kidnapping charge.
All four were scheduled for a grand jury report on Oct. 2.
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