Police: Man arrested after tying kidnapping victim to chair with fire underneath

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Lee County Sheriffs Office(OPELIKA, Ala.) — Police arrested an Alabama man on kidnapping charges after he allegedly tied a man up and tortured him with fire before posting video of the disturbing incident.

Officers said they apprehended Kendrick Hill, 30, with help from the U.S. Marshall’s Fugitive Task Force on Wednesday, as video of the incident “was going viral on social media,” police said.

Investigators used information from the social media video to rescue the victim, a 31-year-old man who police said was tied to a tree when they got to him.

Opelika Police Department Capt. Shane Healey said the man was strapped to a plastic lawn chair, which was tied to a tree. Police said they saw evidence of the earlier fire on the ground beneath him.

“The offender videoed what he was doing to this guy and sent it to some people on social media. One of those folks flagged some of our police officers and showed them the video,” Healey told ABC News on Thursday. “Thankfully, the officers recognized the location in the video, so they went there and found the victim still tied in the chair, which was tied to a tree.”

Hill, who allegedly assaulted the man, fled the scene on foot when police arrived, but officers apprehended him after a day-long search.

“We knew who he was from the video and the victim also knew who he was,” Healey said. “We were able to get warrants on him for kidnapping first degree, attempted assault first degree and attempting to flee law enforcement.”

Police did not disclose how the victim knew his alleged attacker.

Hill was being held on several charges, including kidnapping, attempted assault and giving false information to police. His bond was set at more than $100,000.

The victim was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and had been released as of Thursday evening. The case was truly the result of good community outreach, Healey said, highlighting the resident who flagged officers down and others who saw the video and sent it to police.

“It was impressive that people in our community were so forthcoming in contacting us, giving us the information and sharing it with us so that we can help the guy,” he said. “I think that’s more important than anything we did.”

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