2 men arrested in alleged kidnapping, assault of 17-year-old boys


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SALT LAKE CITY — Two 17-year-old boys were rescued by Salt Lake police early Wednesday after allegedly being kidnapped, assaulted and forced to drink gasoline.

"The victims were basically tied up with Weed Eater wire. They had guns pointed at them and they had gasoline poured on them, and one or more of them were pistol-whipped," said Salt Lake police detective Rob Ungricht.

The men allegedly either talked about or forced at least one of the teens to drink gasoline "to scare them," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report, though it was not clear whether he carried through with the threat.

The incident began about 1:40 a.m. when police received a 911 call from one of the boys claiming they had been tied up, beaten and were "fearing for their lives," Ungricht said.

Police did not know Wednesday if one of the boys was able to break free or how he was able to call 911. It was not immediately known how long the teens were held captive.

The teens had gone to the house, 1885 W. 1700 North, earlier that evening to "talk about a debt," said Ungricht, who did not know what type of debt was in dispute.

Investigators triangulated where the cellphone call came from and eventually spotted an open garage where the teens were allegedly being held. As officers walked up to the house, the two juveniles ran out to them while two men attempted to escape.

One man ran out of the garage and was quickly taken into custody, Ungricht said, and the other ran back into the house.

Police learned that the man who ran back into the house, Fernando Molina, 20, was also a suspect in a shooting from about a month ago. Because of that, a SWAT team was called to surround the residence.

Molina eventually surrendered without further incident.

The teens were taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries. Investigators recovered two guns from the scene.

Molina was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of two counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a restricted person.

He is also accused of putting gasoline in the mouths of the two teens, the jail report states.

The second man, Oscar Godinez Juarez, 20, was arrested for investigation of several charges, including two counts each of kidnapping an aggravated assault. Juarez was also found to be in possession of a "large quantity" of heroin, the report states.

Molina is also a suspect in a shooting on July 22 near 1370 W. 1000 North, according to police. In that case, an officer was flagged down by a woman who said her 19-year-old boyfriend had been shot in the abdomen, according to a police watch log.

A Salt Lake County Jail report states the man underwent "numerous surgeries" due to the shooting and had part of his colon removed.

Contributing: Whitney Evans

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