ROGERS (KFSM) – Two kidnapping suspects are awaiting extradition back to Benton County after allegedly stabbing a man 68 times, before the man jumped out of a car window to escape, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
Erik Omar Herrera-Ruiz, 22, escaped the attempted kidnapping by jumping out of the vehicle at Arkansas Street in Rogers, at the Jiffy Kwick convenience store Friday night. Eyewitnesses said he was bleeding profusely and in his underwear.
Herrera-Ruiz was transported to Mercy Medical Center in Rogers, where he underwent surgery and was released over the weekend, authorities said.
Law enforcement in Ottawa County, Okla., during a traffic stop later arrested the two kidnapping suspects, Toby Hernandez, 21, and an unnamed underage suspect. The underage suspect’s name will be released when he is extradited back to Arkansas, since he will likely be tried as an adult, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Keshia Guyll said Herrera-Ruiz was meeting the suspects at a home at 9925 Stoney Hollow Road in Rogers on Friday night. When he arrived, Herrera-Ruiz was hit in the head with a baseball bat, Guyll said.
Herrera-Ruiz then got into a struggle with Hernandez, before the juvenile stabbed Herrera-Ruiz 68 times, Guyll said. Herrera-Ruiz collapsed, and the two suspects took off his clothes and loaded him into a vehicle, she said.
While the suspects transported Herrera-Ruiz to a different location, the victim jumped out of the car and escaped, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Hernandez and the juvenile remain in Ottawa County and face charges of aggravated robbery, kidnapping, first-degree battery and theft of property.