A Florida woman decided to get back at her ex-boyfriend by impersonating an ICE agent — to kidnap his wife. And she got away with it, at first.
Latrance Battle stormed into the wife's workplace — the Days Inn in Panana City Beach — wearing black clothing, a white mask, and a phony ICE badge, reports the Panama City News Herald. The wife, who was about to become a U.S. resident, believed the hoax and fearfully got into the back of Battle's car, where the kidnapper snatched away her phone.
But as they drove, the fake ICE agent kept "talking bad" about the victim's husband and warned her that she would have to "suffer the consequences." Knowing something wasn't right, the woman waited until the kidnapper got out of the car to momentarily enter an apartment, giving the victim a chance to un to the nearest bystander, who helped her call the police.
From Panama City News Herald:
On April 10, Latrance Battle walked into the Days Inn on Tyndall Parkway, dressed in a black zip-up jacket, black pants, black hat, and white face mask, according to court documents. She went up to the victim, who worked at the hotel. The victim asked Battle if she would like to book a room, to which Battle unzipped her jacket to reveal the word "ICE" printed on a black shirt. …
The victim became suspicious when they passed the turn-off to go to State Road 77, where BCSO [Bay County Sheriff's Office] is actually located…When they arrived at the apartments, Battle allegedly told the victim to get out of the car and go to a specific unit…
Battle then…ran to her apartment, where her victim said she heard "a lot of noise like she was moving stuff around or talking to someone." The victim used this opportunity to leave and walked quickly to the car of a bystander. She asked the bystander if she could use his phone, as Battle had taken hers, and contacted law enforcement.
She saw Battle "come back around" and walked behind the bystander's vehicle, presumably hiding. Battle then went up to the bystanders car and asked him if he saw a woman running. The bystander is then said to have asked why she took the victim's phone, to which she replied "She knows what she did."
Battle then got back in her car and parked it in front of another building. The bystander told the victim she could come back to his apartment until law enforcement showed up.
Battle was arrested for "kidnapping in commission of a felony," among other charges, and is being held without bail.
Previously: Vengeful Florida woman vandalizes wrong car
