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Only on 3: ODU student scammed and abducted, police arrest 3 men

Posted at 5:42 PM, Feb 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-02 21:01:14-05

NORFOLK, Va. - A violent crime happens in broad daylight, just steps from Old Dominion University, and students say they were never notified about it.

According to court records uncovered by News 3, an ODU student claims she was scammed and then abducted at 2:30 in the afternoon on November 10, 2016, in the 4700 block of Hampton Blvd.

The student had to prove she had $500 in her bank account.

The student had to prove she had $500 in her bank account.

Court records say three men conned the female student into playing a game. If she could prove she had $500 in her bank account, she could win 'an undisclosed amount of money.'

According to a search warrant filed in Norfolk Circuit Court, once the student arrived at the ATM, she began to feel uneasy, but feared the men would hurt her if she didn’t pull out the money.

When the student took out the cash, one of the men place his arm around her neck, pulled her in close and forced her from public view to a nearby parking lot.

Students we spoke to say they were never notified about the incident.

“They usually send out alerts,” said a junior on campus, “but I didn't hear nothing.”

odu-abduction-mugsODU police arrested three men – Diamond Johnson, LeKeith Daniels and Keith Jones – for the crime. Each were charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, abduction, conspiracy to commit abduction, grand larceny and conspiracy to commit grand larceny.  The suspects were indicted by a Norfolk grand jury on Wednesday.

News 3 Reporter Merris Badcock spoke to the mother of LeKeith Daniels. She would not go on camera, but she said the story is a lie, and that her son never abducted the female.

Hearing about the alleged crime from News 3 sparked a discussion with students on campus.

odu-pd“It’s real unexpected. You would think, you know, in the middle of the day, police roaming around, they would catch it,” said a junior on campus.

“Most of the time, if we have females in a group, we have guys with them,” said a sophomore student.

One senior student gave advice to his peers. “You have to look around. I see a lot of students, and they walk, they are on their phone. They don`t know what is going on around them. Obviously that makes you a target.”

ODU officials released this statement to News 3:

“Despite arrests being made in this case, no video or further information is being released at this time because it remains an active investigation pending prosecution.”

School officials also said they weren’t required to notify students about the incident since it did not happen on school property.