Man charged with holding man against his will, threatening to kill him

A 29-year-old Sarasota man known as “Low-Key” was arrested May 12 after police say he held a man against his will and threatened to kill him.

Around 6:30 a.m., Lamar “Low-Key” Morris called out to a 19-year-old man known to him as he walked in the area of Dr. Martin Luther King Way and Dixie Avenue. They started talking and Morris asked where “his boy” and “his stuff” was, according to the Sarasota Police Department.

The 19-year-old didn’t know what Morris was talking about, but was then led to a shed behind a house in the 2500 block of Dixie Avenue. Morris again pressed the man about where “his boy” was, then said he wasn’t going anywhere until they showed up.

“Otherwise, you are going to die,” Morris said, according to police.

Morris started placing knives on a table inside the shed. Two men entered.

The 19-year-old man was then hogtied by Morris, who then wrapped a dog chain around the man’s neck until he couldn’t breathe and struck him with it, according to police. The man lied and told Morris where “his boy” was; Morris told the others to watch the 19-year-old as he went looking.

Able to free himself, the 19-year-old made a run for the door but one of men on watch hit him with a machete, which caused no injury according to police. He then was able to jump over a fence, run to a nearby home and call police.

Morris faces charges of false imprisonment and aggravated battery. He was released from the Sarasota County jail on a $2,500 bond on May 13. Additional charges are pending, according to police.

This story was originally published May 18, 2017 at 9:03 AM with the headline "Man charged with holding man against his will, threatening to kill him."