Kidnapping charge dropped for men accused of forcing driver to take them to Miami Beach

Two men accused of kidnapping a Lyft driver at gunpoint and forcing him to drive to Miami Beach are no longer facing that charge after a judge ruled there was no probable cause.

Authorities on Tuesday arrived at a building called SoBe Ocean Drive Suites, off Ocean Drive and 14th Street, across from the Betsy Hotel at around 9:15 p.m.

Officers found the two men and were able to take one into custody.

The second man barricaded himself inside a location in the 1400 block of Ocean Drive before he was safely taken into custody at around 1:08 a.m. Wednesday.

The suspects were identified as 22-year-old Ashton Montañez and 25-year-old Jefferson Mesidorm.

During their court appearances, the judge found there was no probable cause for the kidnapping charge after the duo ordered the Lyft themselves.

“How is it kidnapping if you booked the ride?” the judge said.

Investigators said that no gun was recovered after the two were taken into custody.

NBC6 spoke to the Lyft driver, who said the men ran to his car, abruptly got in and immediately started putting the seat backs down in an attempt to hide.

“I didn’t react by fighting or doing anything risky,” Atilio Bellanza said in Spanish. “I tried to stay as calm as possible, breathe and just let things happen as God‘s will. I tried to avoid escalating anything.”

The Lyft driver said once they got in his car near Bay Harbor Terrace, near the 97th, where there was police activity, he said he saw one of the defendants pass something to the other.

The driver believed that something was a gun.

“The victim thought it was a gun, but I don’t think anything has been recovered yet, so we’re not sure if it was in fact a gun,” a prosecutor said.

Once the driver dropped them off in Miami Beach, he called 911.

He told NBC6 he feared for his life and only thought about getting back home to his four kids.

Montañez and Mesidorm are not facing the kidnapping charge, but that could change if a gun is located or more evidence comes to light.

They are facing a resisting an officer without violence charge, and remain in jail.