Local soca artiste claims he was abducted by gunman

Budding soca star Kevon “Kev” Alleyne has described the 24-hour period earlier this week during which he was abducted and held captive as being the scariest thing ever.

Alleyne was found on Tuesday night in Kingstown, alive and well, after he had been reported missing 24 hours earlier. {{more}}Reports that the artiste had gone missing on Monday night set social media abuzz, with many persons ‘re-posting’ and ‘sharing’ the missing posters.

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday, the 23-year-old Belair resident said at about 9 p.m. on Monday, he was in the Cane Hall area, walking home from the gym, when a man forced him into a car at gunpoint.

“I was there and I stopped to answer a message. So I answered the message, then I put away my phone, because I usually run up. So, when I was about to start, a man pull up and stick the gun out the window and tell me get in the car and then the back door open.

“Well, I was scared, so I just get in the car and when I got in the car, a man was in the back seat and he put a bag over my head and tied it,” a distraught Alleyne recalled.

He noted that because of the bag being tied tightly over his head, he was unable to breathe and passed out.

“When I catch myself I was in a room…by this time my hands tied behind my back …so then I sat there for a while tied up, the bag still over my head.

“Then two men came in the room and pulled off the bag off my head and then they bounce and they didn’t say anything to me for the entire time.”

The soca star said several hours must have elapsed and some time the next day, he assessed the situation and noticed his gym bag on the ground with the contents scattered.

“So then I started listening out for movements and looking around to see if I could figure out what going on. They were outside talking…I wasn’t sure how many of them were there, so I started like wiggling, trying to get my hand free. After a good while, I ended up getting my right hand free,” he said.

Continuing his tale, Alleyne said that he kept his hands behind his back, because he wanted the men to think he was still tied up if they returned to the room.

“I stayed there for a while, just looking around, ‘sussing’ what going on, still trying to get my left hand loose and then…the place go quiet, then I heard like they leave.”

At this point he noted that it was beginning to get dark outside and the voices had died down, so he decided to try to escape.

“I tried the door first to see if I could get out, but it seemed like the door was bolted from the outside. So I head to the window. I had to struggle to get the window open. I get the window open just to see if anybody outside. I listen to see if I hear anybody or movements, then I just toss my bag out of the window and climb out of there.”

Alleyne stated that he did not know where he was or in what direction he was heading; however, he made his escape through some bushes.

“I bobbed and weaved through the bush, because I didn’t want to go in one direction…. Eventually I see some lights and I end up passing through a yard, and then I end up seeing the Kingstown cemetery.”

The soca artiste said he knocked on a door to ask for a call; however, the occupants of the house were unable to help him. He said he then made an attempt to get a Toyota Noah vehicle to stop, but was ignored by the driver.

“The next vehicle that happened to come around is my friend…and …they were coming up that side and I was frantic and I flag them down, so they stop for me.”

It was at that point that he was able to call his mother and let her know he was safe.

Alleyne disclosed that while he was missing, his family had received a demand for a ransom of $80,000 to be paid.

Leoline Craigg Jones, Alleyne’s mother, said that she is relieved that her son has been found alive and well.

“I cried for joy…there is a sense of relief….

“We don’t know the motive; like someone said they have a lot of medical students living in that area; they could have taken him for a medical student. Maybe they were just after money,” she continued.

Jones stated that while her son was missing she was very distraught mentally and physically because of recent surgeries.

“I was shaken up, so I had to lie down for a while. I was crying uncontrollably, because it was fear, apprehension and everything mixed in one and at one point I felt like I didn’t want to live.”

Kev’s girlfriend, Samantha Nichols, remarked that it was a scary experience for her because she did not know what the outcome was going to be.

“Because generally, we understand that the more time goes by, the more likely it is for something to go wrong. It was really scary, to be honest.”

She is, however, relieved and happy that he is alive and well.

Investigators from the Major Crimes Unit of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force are leading investigations into the kidnapping.(CM)