Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort encounter ended in alleged kidnapping, blowtorch torture, feds say

Six men are facing federal kidnapping charges after authorities say they lured two people to a Hollywood Beach resort's parking garage, then abducted them at gunpoint, threatened to kill them and their families, and tortured one victim with a blowtorch before both managed to escape in separate ways.

The incident began in late May on Hollywood's broadwalk when two men met Saul Fajardo, 19, who spoke about a car show on U.S. 27. According to investigators, the two victims went with Fajardo to the fourth floor of the Margaritaville parking garage to smoke marijuana.

While there, another car pulled up, and four men jumped out. All were armed with semi-automatic firearms and wearing ski masks and latex gloves.

The victims were driven away in two separate cars. Investigators said one suspect, identified as 20-year-old Justin Phihoang Le threatened one victim while demanding money. Le allegedly told the victim: "If you try to get out, I am going to end your life. I am going to kill you and your family."

The victim recounted seeing pliers in the car, and Le telling him, "If I don't get my money, every 10 minutes I'm going to take one of your fingernails off."

After reaching a spot on U.S. 27, both victims were ordered to their knees. Le allegedly used a blowtorch to burn the victim's racing flag tattoo and said, "I'm going to torture you." The victim managed to escape by faking a seizure.

The other victim was wearing an ankle monitor, which investigators said caused the suspects to panic and let him go.

Le's attorney told CBS News Miami he would have preferred the state to prosecute over federal authorities due to the age of the suspects, ranging from 18 to 21 years old, and their eligibility for youthful offender status.