Antonio Caban has been found guilty of three counts of Kidnapping and two counts of Assault in a case involving a day of terror for a woman and her four children.
Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Brown and Assistant State Attorney Brian Ashby prosecuted the three-day trial in Collier County.
The crimes happened at several locations during January 3, 2023. On that day, a woman met up with the defendant in LaBelle, along with her four children. They were all in the woman’s car, in a grocery store parking lot, when the defendant started to argue with her, after she said she wanted to leave. The defendant then grabbed her keys from the ignition, along with her wallet and phone. He went around to the driver’s side and got into the driver’s seat. He then put the car in reverse and threatened to crash the car and kill everyone.
He began driving and at one point he stopped the car. The woman got out and tried to get help but the defendant began hitting her and bit her on the face. A Good Samaritan tried to stop the car from leaving but the defendant drove off.
During this drive, the woman’s family called. The defendant demanded the woman put the phone on speaker and she spoke briefly to her family member while the defendant guided her on how to respond.
At one point, the defendant stopped the car again in a rural area in Highlands County. The woman got out of the car and managed to get two of her children out. The defendant retrieved a tire iron and hit the woman with it threatening to kill everyone and ordered them all back in the car. He began driving again, heading North.
The woman’s family, who were concerned about her safety, called law enforcement and a Collier County Sheriff’s Deputy called the victim’s phone. The woman again answered the phone on speaker. The defendant had her end the call.
The defendant stopped the car in a citrus field in Polk County and put her cellphone in a bag and buried it so they would not be tracked. He said he if saw any police on the way he would crash the car. He told the woman he was going to drive to a home improvement store to buy a shovel to kill them all and bury them.
In an effort to get her and her family to safety, the woman pretended to go along with the defendant’s plans and tricked the defendant by asking him to drive her to an organization for women saying she could get some important documents from there. He agreed and drove her to the building in Immokalee. She went inside and told the staff what was happening and they called 911. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office swiftly responded to the scene. The children were rescued from the car and the defendant was taken into custody.
Sentencing is scheduled July 7, 2025. He faces up to life in prison.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office and Hendry County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation with assistance from the Highland County Sheriff’s Office and Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office