Man repeatedly kidnapped ex-girlfriend, Florida police say. He turns himself in
A man accused of repeatedly kidnapping his ex-girlfriend has turned himself in more than three weeks after the latest incident in the Tampa Bay Area, according to authorities.
Detectives had searched for Jahvontae Bell, 27, of Clearwater, since Sept. 1, when two residents at a St. Petersburg apartment complex reported seeing Bell arguing with his ex-girlfriend before forcing her into her own car and speeding off, an affidavit says.
He smashed into two cars while leaving the complex and headed northbound onto U.S. Route 19 that morning, the St. Petersburg Police Department said Sept. 1, announcing Bell’s 26-year-old ex as missing and endangered.
The woman was found at a Taco Bell in Clearwater at around 1:30 a.m. the next morning, according to the affidavit.
Bell turned himself in the morning of Sept. 25, St. Petersburg police announced in a news release.
He was arrested on charges of kidnapping, carjacking and aggravated stalking, according to authorities.
Information on Bell’s legal representation was not listed in court records Sept. 26.
While the woman was still missing, her mother told police that her daughter had “multiple domestic issues” with Bell and that he had kidnapped her previously.
Bell was arrested in connection with abducting his ex-girlfriend near the University of South Florida in Tampa in July 2024, WFLA reported.
Bell and another person forced the woman into a car on July 18, 2024, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the incident as an armed kidnapping.
She was found safe in Largo nearly 24 hours later, the sheriff’s office said July 18.
Bell was arrested after he was seen leaving a shed with his ex-girlfriend at a home in Largo, according to authorities.
This was the second kidnapping incident, according to WFLA. Bell had kidnapped his ex-girlfriend a month earlier, in June 2024, Clearwater police told the TV station.
Bell is due in court for an Oct. 20 arraignment in connection with the St. Petersburg kidnapping, court records show.
This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Man repeatedly kidnapped ex-girlfriend, Florida police say. He turns himself in."
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