Daytona Beach, FL – Police have arrested the suspect who locked a man in the trunk of his car during a carjacking on Beville Road in Daytona Beach.
On August 24, Daytona Beach Police responded to the South Daytona Beach Police Department where they met a man who said he was carjacked in Daytona Beach. The victim told police that he had been forced into the trunk of his own car after it was stolen.
The victim said he was able to free himself when the vehicle stopped at the red light at the intersection of Beville Road and S. Ridgewood Ave. and was able to walk to the South Daytona Police Departement to report the incident. Upon being transported to the Daytona Beach Police Department, the victim told police what occurred.
At around 12:30 to 1 AM on August 24, the victim said he was sitting in a parking lot located at 1200 Beville Road in his 2002 Lexus after an argument with his girlfriend. A white male then approached the victim and asked if he was okay and walked away upon the victim answering “yes.”
1o to 15 minutes later, the white male returned and stated that the victim was still sitting in his car. The man approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and another man approached the passenger's side. One suspect told the victim to leave his keys in the ignition and to get in the backseat.
The victim said the man on the passenger's side had a gun and he thought that he heard it click. The men got into the front seats and pushed the victim to the backseat, asking him if he had any money. The victim gave the driver $5 and the passenger stole his wallet with his Wells Fargo debit card inside.
The victim told the suspects his PIN code and they proceeded to drive to a bank and withdraw $500 from his bank account. One of the suspects told the victim that they would have to burn his car and that the driver wanted to kill him.
The victim was then driven to the woods, where a third suspect joined, and was ultimately forced into the trunk of his car. When the vehicle stopped, the victim looked out of the trunk and discovered he was in a junkyard but could not run because the suspects were standing close by.
The car began to move again and the victim noticed that they were back on Beville Road after they passed “Lee’s Market” and the train tracks. When the vehicle came to a stop, the victim assumed they were at the intersection of Beville Road and S. Ridegwood Ave., so he escaped.
Traffic camera footage shows the victim exiting the trunk and the car turning right onto S. Ridgewood Ave. Later that evening, the man’s stolen Lexus crashed in South Daytona but the driver and passengers fled the scene.
The victim told police that the suspects withdrew $500 from the Wells Fargo in New Smyrna Beach. Police were able to get a picture of the suspect wearing a mask from the ATM camera. Two tattoos were visible on the suspect’s left hand, an eye and what appeared to be Chinese characters.
(Photo of Ziegler courtesy of the Daytona Beach Police)
The next day, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a domestic disturbance and arrested Tristen Ziegler, 20, for aggravated assault and felony battery. Upon an investigation, deputies found the carjacking victim’s driver’s license, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs card and Wells Fargo debit card behind Ziegler’s couch after he tried to hide them. Ziegler was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail to be interviewed. According to police, Ziegler tried to hide his hands in his shirt to cover his tattoos and refused when police asked if they could photograph them. Police asked Ziegler to explain his side of the story regarding the carjacking but refused and asked to speak with a lawyer. Police contacted Zeigler’s girlfriend who identified him as being the man in the ATM photograph. She said his tattoos on his left hand are a dragon’s eye and "mentally deranged killer" in Japanese. Zeigler was then charged with robbery with a firearm, grand theft auto and false imprisonment.
(Ziegler mugshot courtesy of Volusia CountyCorrections)
Photo courtesy Kim Britten and Shutterstock.com. Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.
