Ormond Man Charged With Kidnapping, Beating & Threatening To Kill Woman

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Daytona Beach, FL - An Ormond Beach man was arrested after Daytona Beach police (DBPD) say he kidnapped, beat, and threatened to strangle and kill his female date with a cell phone cord. DBPD says early Saturday morning, 22-year-old Matthew Thomas was with a woman at his Ormond Beach residence, and the two decided to attend a house party in Daytona Beach near the intersection of Main St. and Hollywood Ave. After spending an unknown amount of time at the party, Thomas told the woman to get into his pickup truck and said he wanted to take the woman to a place in Ocala where they could be alone and undisturbed, according to police reports. The woman said she either wanted to stay at the party or go to a bar across the street. Thomas became increasingly more aggressive and insistent, and eventually, the woman agreed to leave with him. While the woman was in the truck with Thomas, DBPD says he became increasingly more argumentative and aggressive. Thomas allegedly demanded to see her cell phone so he could see who she had been calling. According to police reports, Thomas told the woman if she did not show him her phone, he would "fracture the bones in her fingers." The woman tried to leave the truck, but Thomas kept locking the doors so she couldn't get out. Thomas slapped, punched, and bit the woman, police reports say, and he threw the woman's iPhone on the ground, destroying it. He wrapped a cell phone charging cord around his hands as if he were going to strangle the woman with it and told the woman if she ran, he would kill her and that "no one would find her." The woman was eventually able to escape from the truck. She flagged down a passing motorist, who took her to the Ormond Beach Police Department. DBPD arrived at the scene, and the woman reported the incident. Thomas was arrested at around 3:24 AM Saturday. He faces charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony, and battery.

(Thomas's mugshot courtesy DBPD's social media)

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