Four teens between the ages of 15-years-old and 17-years-old have been arrested for kidnapping and extortion.
Windsor police says a man was walking in the 500-block of St. Joseph Street shortly after midnight on August 11 when he was confronted by four people in a stolen 2012 Subaru Legacy.
According to police, the individuals were armed with a handgun and a machete and threatened the victim, forcing him into the vehicle.
Police say the victim was held against his will for roughly two hours and was repeatedly assaulted and threatened with weapons.
Investigators say at one point, the suspects drove to a convenience store in the 300 block of Mill Street, pressed a machete to the victim’s stomach, and ordered him to steal alcohol.
Police say the victim complied and was assaulted again and was sprayed with a noxious substance before eventually escaping at a nearby park.
The Windsor Police Major Crimes Unit investigated and issued arrest warrants for four youth suspects.
A 15-year-old boy was arrested by the OPP-led Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (ROPE) Squad on August 14 in the 900-block of Howard Avenue.
Police say the following morning, officers arrested a 17-year-old boy at a home in the 800-block of Gladstone Avenue.
On August 19, the ROPE Squad located and arrested the remaining two suspects, both 15-year-old boys in the 90 block of Pine Street in Chatham.
Police say the four boys have been charged with kidnapping, extortion, forcible confinement, possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000 and two counts of failure to comply with a YCJA sentence.
The 17-year-old boy is also charged with assault with a weapon while one of the 15-year-olds is charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, wearing a disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence, and a third count of failure to comply with a YCJA sentence.
Police say another 15-year-old is charged with wearing a disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence.
The identities of the boys cannot be released publicly under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Police say officers located the stolen Subaru Legacy on Lillian Avenue, just north of Erie Street East.
The investigation continues.
Anyone with information is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers.