Clockwise from top left: Aaron Bradshaw, Martina Esqueda, Austin Bradshaw, Michael Esqueda, Chance Johnston, and David Cessna (Lucas County Corrections Center).
Six Ohio residents have been accused by prosecutors of holding a man captive for a week, beating him with a metal bat, and other “extremely disturbing” crimes.
Aaron Bradshaw, 49, Austin Bradshaw, 23, Chance Johnston, 27, David Cessna, 26, Martina Esqueda (aka Martina Jones), 28, and Michael Esqueda, 28, face felony charges of kidnapping to terrorize or to inflict serious physical harm and are being held at the Lucas County Corrections Center on $200,000. In an arrest warrant for Aaron Bradshaw, police stated that the unnamed victim was allegedly kidnapped on March 14 and held against his will for a week. During that time, the six defendants allegedly restrained the man, beat the victim with “his hands and a metal bat,” and made him “stand for extended periods of time.”
Local Toledo news outlet The Blade reported from the courtroom on March 24 that prosecutors told a judge the alleged victim had suffered serious injuries as a result of the abuse he experienced during his captivity, including broken bones, but “the totality of those injuries has not been determined.” Assistant city prosecutor Andy Lastra called the case “extremely disturbing.”
While it was not made clear how the alleged victim escaped captivity, the arrest warrants stated that the abuse claims came from him. Among the accusations made in the warrant, the alleged victim told police that he was only allowed to eat and drink “once a day” and only slept for 10 hours during the entire seven-day period. The six defendants also allegedly forced him to “stand for extended periods of time.”
The relationship between the alleged victim and the defendants was not made clear in the warrants or during their preliminary hearing on March 24 in Toledo Municipal Court. Three of the defendants — Cessna, Michael Esqueda, and Martina Esqueda, under the name Martina Jones — are also being charged in Maumee Municipal Court: Cessna is charged with second-degree domestic violence, Michael Esqueda is charged with second-degree felonious assault, and Martina Esqueda is charged with second-degree felonious assault and domestic violence to a household member in connection with the same case.
All six defendants had their bail set at $200,000 and are currently in custody at Lucas County Corrections Center. Their next court appearance was scheduled for April 1.
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