Friday morning traffic in Polk County turned into a life-or-death drama when a Florida Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a white Chevrolet Silverado on State Road 570 and found a woman inside who was bloodied, bruised and begging for help. Drivers on I‑4 reported hearing the woman scream that she had been kidnapped, triggering a BOLO for the truck and a multi-county law enforcement response that ended with the driver in handcuffs and what investigators describe as a violent, rolling abduction brought to a halt.
Multi-county trooper rescue
Shortly after 9 a.m., dispatch issued a BOLO for a white Chevrolet Silverado traveling westbound on I‑4 after a woman inside yelled that she had been kidnapped. A trooper later spotted the truck on State Road 570, pulled it over, drew his firearm, ordered the driver out and took him into custody. The driver was identified in the arrest report as Jeremy Matthew Mason, who was booked on felony counts, as reported by FOX 13 News.
Victim's account
The woman told troopers that Mason, whom she described as her boyfriend, picked her up at her home and agreed to drive her to his Daytona Beach residence before an argument erupted. She said he struck her in the face with a coffee cup and punched her arm at a drive-thru when she asked employees to call 911, and that she briefly got out at a 7‑Eleven to seek help before he forced her back into the truck. “He said he wanted to kill me,” the victim told troopers, and the arrest affidavit states that Mason backhanded her four to five times, according to FOX 13 News.
Charges and unanswered questions
Mason faces charges that include battery-domestic violence, kidnapping and aggravated assault, according to the arrest report. Authorities have not yet released the specific locations of the drive-thru or the 7‑Eleven where parts of the alleged attack occurred, and no medical updates on the victim’s condition have been made public. The case remains under active investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol with assistance from local agencies.
Legal implications
Under Florida law, kidnapping is a first-degree felony that can carry a sentence of up to life in prison, while aggravated assault and felony battery carry separate felony penalties that depend on the details of the offense and any prior record. Prosecutors will decide on formal charges and any enhancements based on the affidavit and the evidence. The statutory definitions and penalties are set out in the Florida Statutes, including Chapter 787, and in the Florida Statutes, including Chapter 784.
FOX 13 News reports that the Florida Highway Patrol provided information from the arrest report and that the Polk County Sheriff’s Office supplied a courtesy image. This story will be updated if additional records or official comments are released.
