3 arrested in kidnapping, beating, robbery of Jacksonville teen

From left: Jesse Vanpelt, 24; Braden Newman, 18; and Thomas Allen Zapata, 20.
From left: Jesse Vanpelt, 24; Braden Newman, 18; and Thomas Allen Zapata, 20.

Three men charged with kidnapping, beating and robbing a Jacksonville man have been arrested, and police said they discovered an assault rifle and an assortment of drugs while executing a search warrant Tuesday.

Police reported finding an AR-15 loaded with 20 rounds of .223 ammunition, 43 grams of marijuana, Xanax and an oxymorphone pill, along with bongs, pipes, baggies and scales at a house on Sasser Court in North Little Rock, according to an arrest report at the Pulaski County jail.

After the search of the home, police arrested Braden Newman, 18, and Thomas Allen Zapata, 20, on warrants for kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated robbery and terroristic threatening.

Newman, Zapata, and a third man living at the home, Nicholas Allen Filbert, 20, were given drug and firearms charges related to the search.

Last week, police also arrested 24-year-old Jesse Vanpelt on kidnapping, assault, robbery and weapons charges in relation to a report given to police Jan. 21.

Around 1:30 a.m. that morning, Blake Shadwick, 19, of Jacksonville was met by police officers at a Little Rock trailer park while wearing only a black T-shirt and briefs, with no shoes or socks, according to a police report out of Jacksonville.

Shadwick looked beat up, with a swollen left eye, bloody nose and red marks on his left arm, back, chest and legs, officer Amanda Smith wrote in the report.

Shadwick told police he was friends with the three men and that Newman called him earlier that night to stop by his Jacksonville home and talk, according to the report.

The report said Shadwick owed Newman $50, which he told police he paid when Newman and Zapata drove up to his house. The pair then told Shadwick to take a ride with them to the store, despite Shadwick saying he was planning on going to bed, the report said.

Shadwick told police he went with the two, and while stopped at a stop sign, Vanpelt emerged from the trunk, got in the back seat and began hitting and tasing Shadwick, the report stated.

Newman and Zapata threatened to kill Shadwick if he told anyone about the beating, and stole his pants, socks, money, phone, ID, and a pair of $350 Air Jordan sneakers before leaving him at the Little Rock trailer park, Shadwick told police in the report.

Police reported finding the sneakers during the search of the house where Newman and Zapata were arrested.

Bond for Vanpelt was set at $150,000, while bond was set at $60,000 each for Newman and Zapata.

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