Two men kidnap car salesman during test drive

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A man with an incredible story is recuperating after a severe attack.

21-year-old Jose Martinez is a car salesman at Gillman Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram dealership located in the 10500 block of W Sam Houston Pkwy.

According to police, the incident started around 6 p.m. Monday night when two men came into the Gillman Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram dealership located in the 10500 block of W Sam Houston Pkwy, and asked to test drive a Dodge Challenger.

Martinez  took the customer on a test drive when he said the customer started acting suspiciously.

“He made a quick right into this dark neighborhood next to a Valero, and that’s when I started suspecting something was going on,” said Martinez.

He said the customer met up with another car that had two other men inside. Martinez said they beat him, tied him up, and stuffed him into the trunk where he heard a chilling conversation between his attackers.

“I was hearing all this, and then they were like ‘Where are we going to dump this guy off when we're done?’ and when they said that, I instantly starting getting all the stuff off [referring to being tied up]. I was like…I'm not going to die here,” said Martinez.

While he was in the trunk, Martinez said he squirmed free, called police, and activated his “Find iPhone” app.
When the car stopped, he was able to pop the trunk open using an inside latch, but the men attacked him again.

“We were fighting at the edge of a ditch, and it was really, really steep, so I hit him, and he slid right down there,” said Martinez.

At that point, he said he wrestled a gun away from the men and was able to shoot one of them near the neck.
He said he then ran away, back to the dealership where he called police.

Now, he's recovering under his mom's watchful eye.

“He's my youngest son, and he was just - you know, really bad, but my only concern is that he's alive,” said Melissa Martinez, the victim’s mother.

Martinez described his attackers as around or over 6'5" and African-American with tattoos on their arms.

Police were able to track the car down and did chase the suspects but they ended up getting away on foot.

Martinez said the customer did provide his driver’s license and that he took down all of the customer’s details in a folder that he carried with him on the test drive. When the assault happened, Martinez said the folder was left behind in the car.