Man jailed after alleged kidnapping, beating of 2

Deputies arrested a man Thursday who they say helped kidnap and severely beat a man and woman near West Palm Beach in February.

Angel Rivera, 46, faces charges of false imprisonment while armed, kidnapping while armed, felon in possession of a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He remains in the Palm Beach County Jail on a $650,000 bond. A 37-year-old identified in the police report only as the female victim’s boyfriend was also charged.

On Feb. 7, Palm Beach County sheriff ’s office deputies responded to an undisclosed address near West Palm Beach to investigate the disappearance of 22-year-old Cary Landa. A woman described as Landa’s friend told deputies Landa had been missing for about two days and had recently moved in with her boyfriend.

As deputies searched the residence, they found what appeared to be blood on a rug and on the master bedroom floor. They also found duct tape and zip ties. Deputies said there was a smell of bleach inside and, outside by the front door, there was a pipe with a “bloodlike-substance” on it.

Detectives learned that on Feb. 5, a man named Roger Paz was lured to the residence. When Paz arrived, he was attacked. Paz was then bound with duct tape and put in a car trunk but managed to escape and call police. Deputies said Paz suffered serious injuries.

On Feb. 9, Landa’s friend notified deputies she got Facebook messages from Landa, who communicated she was being held in Opa-locka, had a broken finger, had been hit in the head and face with a hammer and was going to try to escape. Landa also sent the friend a photo of her face, which showed swelling and a black eye.

Landa was found later that afternoon in Lantana on Federal Highway after she called 911.

In an interview with detectives, Landa said that on Feb. 5, she and her boyfriend went to a strip club and, upon returning home, noticed that someone had broken in, with drugs and cash missing from her boyfriend’s safe. Landa said he was furious and accused her of “being complicit,” the report states.

Landa said her boyfriend repeatedly hit her in the face, briefly left and returned with an assault rifle. He kept asking about the burglary, pointed the rifle at her, then fired into the ceiling. When Landa’s friend called, the boyfriend got more upset, and he beat Landa, the arrest report states.

Shortly after, several people known to be friends of the boyfriend — including Rivera — arrived, and Landa was also beaten by Rivera and another individual. Landa was pressured into calling Paz to lure him to the home because the men believed he was also involved in the burglary, according to the report.

Landa told police that when Paz arrived, he was cut with a knife and beaten. She watched as Paz’s hands and feet were bound, and he was put in a car trunk and driven away while Rivera and Landa’s boyfriend stayed behind.

Shortly after, Rivera and Landa’s boyfriend found that Paz escaped, so the men left with Landa and went to a hotel in Lantana. When the men learned deputies had a search warrant for Landa’s home, they fled to Opa-locka — holding Landa against her will, according to deputies.

Landa said she was able to flee from a vehicle in Lantana, taking her boyfriend’s gun and cellphone. Investigators tied the boyfriend to the Opa-locka residence where Landa was held via cellphone data obtained through a search warrant.

Landa was able to identify Rivera in a photo lineup, and deputies arrested him Thursday. Deputies also located and arrested Landa’s boyfriend.