A secret message to a Walmart employee helped a man escape his alleged kidnappers on the South Side, San Antonio police said.
Levi Wayne Smith and Jose Garza Valencia were arrested Wednesday and charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon under the "safe release" provision. A judge set bail for each man at $200,000.
The safe-release provision in the Texas Penal Code allows a defendant to argue that a hostage was voluntarily released in a safe place. If successful, the aggravated kidnapping charge can be reduced from a first-degree felony to a second-degree felony.
The kidnapping occurred Aug. 23, when a 20-year-old man stopped to buy a drink at a Shell gas station in the 3000 block of Southeast Military Drive.
Smith and Valencia approached him as he walked inside and asked for money. The man said he had none and continued into the store.
Investigators said the men followed him, but he did not realize it until he returned to his car.
Smith and Valencia approached the man as he sat in the driver's seat and began looking through the vehicle. Valencia then showed him a gun and got into the passenger seat, while Smith sat in the back.
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While displaying the gun, Valencia demanded that the man drive to places where he could withdraw money. The man went to four locations: a home on Harcourt Avenue, another on Goliad Road, the H-E-B at 3323 Southeast Military Drive and, finally, the Walmart Supercenter at 3302 Southeast Military Drive.
At each location, the man got out of the vehicle first, followed by Valencia and Smith. Each time he tried to create some distance, the men closed the gap and threatened him, investigators said.
They never let him out of their sight.
At some point, Smith also said he had a weapon but never displayed it.
When they reached Walmart, the man went to the customer service area to try to get money. He showed an employee his cellphone, which displayed a text message saying the men had a gun and were trying to rob him.
The employee told her supervisor, who alerted San Antonio police. Smith and Valencia saw what was happening and ran from the store.
Police reviewed security camera footage from Walmart. Officers who regularly patrol the South Side recognized Smith and Valencia from previous interactions, investigators said.
Investigators also verified their identities by comparing the camera footage with their Bexar County jail booking photos from a previous arrest.
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This article originally published at Secret message helps San Antonio man escape alleged kidnapping at Walmart.