Two unrelated kidnapping cases under investigation by Coweta Police

An outbreak of violent crime in the small town of Coweta has six people behind bars and four more suspects on the loose. <br/><br/>News on 6 reporter Heather Lewin has more on the bizarre twist in two

Monday, November 22nd 2004, 6:03 pm

By: News On 6

An outbreak of violent crime in the small town of Coweta has six people behind bars and four more suspects on the loose.

News on 6 reporter Heather Lewin has more on the bizarre twist in two seemingly unrelated cases of kidnapping.

Coweta Police officer Lt Donnie Krumsiek: "We're not going to tolerate it, to us this is a heinous crime and it's not allowed." A 19-year old Coweta man was kidnapped and beaten within an inch of his life Friday night. Police say by a group of people to whom he owed money.

Investigators say the suspects, all area residents, forced the victim into a car at the Garden Walk Apartments and took him to a rural area a few miles outside of town. At those apartments, police say they dragged him into a field, stripped him and took turns kicking, punching and beating him with a belt until he was unconscious, all over a small amount of cash.

What makes this case even more unusual, it's Coweta's second violent kidnapping and assault in three weeks. Although Coweta Police say these crimes are unrelated, both victims were kidnapped from the same apartment complex.

Apartment complex resident Tammy Armer: â€œIt happened right in that building! I was ready to lock myself in the house, forever. My friends won't come out here; nobody wants to come out once the sun goes down."

Coweta Police say in that case, 28-year old Tiffanie Rainwater and two other suspects held a man who owed her money captive for three days inside an apartment where they handcuffed, beat and tortured him.

Authorities are confident the two are not connected, but say they are beefing up patrols in the area. Lt Donnie Krumsiek: "We're not concerned to the point where people need to be paranoid about being abducted or kidnapped, these were very isolated incidents, however we're going to take every step as a department to prevent this happening again."

Police are closely watching two remaining suspects in each case. In the most recent, the victim has gone into hiding. Police would not identify the nearby residents who helped him that night, for fear it would put the good Samaritans in danger.