A prison inmate serving a life sentence assisted in the kidnapping of a Wake Forest, North Carolina man after smuggling a cell phone into jail, ABC News reported.
On Wednesday night, Frank Arthur Janssen was rescued by the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team from an Atlanta apartment after being kidnapped from his North Carolina home.
During the kidnapping, pictures of Janssen tied up were sent to his wife, accompanied by threats to torture and dismember him if she called police.
"...we will send (Mr. Janssen) back to you in 6 boxes and every chance we get we will take someone in your family to Italy and torture them and kill them ... we will do drive by and gun down anybody," the text said.
Janssen's abduction was in response to his daughter's work as a prosecutor who helped put Kelvin Melton away for life for ordering the shooting of a man in 2011.
According to authorities, Melton, 49, somehow snuck a cell phone into Polk Correctional Institution and communicated over 100 times with his accomplices. Investigators were able to determine the people responsible for the kidnapping after tracking their conversations.
Melton is allegedly a high-ranking member of the Bloods and ordered a 21-year-old gang member to kill the new boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend, according to court documents from a 2012 trial.
He also has a long list of previous criminal activity, ranging from robbery to manslaughter since the age of 14, ABC News said.
On Saturday, a woman knocked on Janssen's door in his upscale Wake Forest community, where several others began assaulting him and used a stun gun. He was then driven to Atlanta, the FBI said.
The five attackers charged in the kidnapping were Jenna Paulin Martin, Tiana Maynard, Jevante "Flame" Price, Michael "Hot" Montreal Gooden, and Clifton James Roberts. Officials also recovered a .45-caliber handgun, picks, and a shovel, the FBI said.
