Texas authorities freed four elderly men Friday who were held captive in a home in Houston against their will and were forced to turn over disability and veterans' checks. One man has been arrested in connection of with the crime.
The elderly men were found in the northern part of the city by officers who were conducting a check of the address after receiving a call alerting them of suspicious activity there, said Jodi Silva, a spokeswoman for Houston Police Department, the Wall Street Journal notes.
KTRK-TV quoted police as saying at least one of the four -- ages 79, 54, 74 and about 65 --had been held against his will for 10 years.
In addition to the four men, Smith said, police also found four women in the home, all of whom appeared to be "mentally ill." The circumstances under which the women were living in the house were presently unknown, aid Houston Police spokesman Kese Smith.
"All four men said they had been lured by the promise of beer and cigarettes and were not allowed to leave," Smith added. "They were forced to sign over their veteran's checks and other checks."
"One of them seemed to think he was picked up off the street and brought here," said Police Sgt. JW McCoy, according to KTRK, the local ABC affiliate. "In exchange for beer and cigarettes and a place to stay, he had to turn over his Social Security check."
According to the reports, the elderly men appeared to be in good health, but some seemed to be invalids and may have been homeless before being held captive in the garage-turned-home.
