Kidnap victim saved by the PSP

by Ross Miller on Aug 16th 2007 2:55PM

A Tennessee man who was kidnapped and tortured for nine days in a motel managed to escape thanks in part to the Sony PSP.

According to an FBI report obtained by the Knoxville News Sentinel, one of the two assailants had given the other a hand-held video game that he played "virtually all day that day and much of the night." (GamePolitics later confirmed from an FBI filing that it was a PSP.) The victim loosened his bindings while the kidnapper played and, when the he had fallen asleep, used the opportunity to escape.

Both men have been arrested in connection to the incident; there is an investigation as to the mens' involvement in similar cases.

Source

Tags: crime, fbi, kidnap, PSP, sony, tennessee

Reader Comments (50)

this feat couldve worked with the DS, let the kidnapper play with nintendogs and bore him to death.

bring it ds fans!

Meh.

Too easy.

How is this really a psp saving someone? if he used the browser to post an SOS online then sure, but this is more a case of stupidity. Who only leaves one guard? What happens if he, i don't know, gets distracted playing psp and falls alseep?

You want at least 2-3 people per hostage so that if they get free, they can be overpowered even after taking one guy out. Has no one seen a decent kidnapping movie?

Dude it's the south.

no offense to any intelligent people living in the south.

"no offense"

None taken

sounds like you're an expert.

sigh.

Only in the south.

Of course only in the south. People are too smart in other parts of America! :-P

Oh yeah, guys. You're hilarious. Let's just base intelligence solely on geography. That sure makes YOU seem smart.

I've lived in Alabama since is was in fourth grade. Aside from the acclaimed universities and physicians found here, my state is the home of a NASA space flight center.

Also, there's no reason to pretend that rednecks, hicks, and racists only exist in the South. It's simply not true.

mmmm stereotypes ... sounds fun, can i try?

i'd rather be a southerner than yankee scum. i bet you wear a lot of hair gel, white k-swiss shoes, and think the civil war was fought over slavery, club kid. do you have a shitty import car that's 3 different colors of primer, no muffler, a huge spoiler, and some neon lights???

/insincere prejudice statements

don't forget that prejudice can be against any race, religion, nationality or creed. don't assume that people from the south don't read this blog. don't insult me, my family, my neighbors, my city, my state, and my country by making stupid statements like that. and it doesn't make it any less offensive, to say "no offense" afterwards.

Nice, colin. ;)

This will be spun into the violent behavior being born of his love for violent games.

"Only in the south?" You sound more ignorant and bigoted than anyone from that part of the country...

You ruined your point by conceding that people from the south are indeed ignorant and bigoted.

Too bad he didn't use the handy MacGuyver tool to escape.

Did any of you read the article (see: Read link). This is totally screwed up. They extorted over 27,000 dollars from this guy and sent it to Mexico.

I wonder what the legal status of these two upright and outstanding individuals were...

That comment was completely irrelevant and mostly offensive...

+1 for riggs.

I wonder what game caused him to fall asleep. Not that it matters...the fact that it was on a PSP is reason enough.

It didn't matter what game it was.

The point is, he fell asleep while waiting for whatever game he was playing to load...

=D

ziiiing!

Isn't it a bit like saying someone was saved by a book because the kidnapper was a voracious reader?

Yeah, it's exactly the same. Gandalf saved me!

Wonder what game torturers play? Sadly Manhunt 2 wasn't released, so we can't pin that on it. Must have been GTA:Vice City Stories. I'd get a pretty good kick if it was Loco Roco though.

Mega true.

I was hoping that they used the browser to email friends/family and let them know the beef.

yeah, but it was funny.

Note to self:
Next time I beat the fuck out of some guy in a motel room, while extorting him for money, bring ds and Elite Beat Agents.

Nobody can fall asleep watching the Divas bounce around to "September." Nobody.

this comment is based on sony's sordid history when it comes to incredibly offensive ad campaigns...

for instance:

http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/06/sony-under-fire-for-racist-advertising/

1: "Turn that piece of shit off and help me tie him up!"
2: "Hold on, I have to get to a save point!"

I can't wait to see how many kidnappers the new PSP-2000 foils!!

Its funny, after the article mentions the kidnapper played a PSP, it calls him a "gamer" thereafter.

Negative SPIN FTL!

so you play the psp you fall asleep .. or the psp is so exciting it knocks you out .. CHOOSE A SIDE!

I choose the former. jk jk guys.

Or am I?

He looks like a retarded Mark or Donnie Wahlberg without music talent, and apparently writing/directing talent as well.

yeah..that should have been in the uwe boll post. oh well.

i hope the only torture the victim received was trying to wait during PSP's obnoxiously long load times

I woulda thought maybe he stuffed it down some guy's throat or used the wifi or um, electricuted him somehow.

LAME!!!

Come on Sony PS3 can cure cancer but PSP can barely save hostages??? weaksauce

Joystiq is retarded. Man saved by the PSP? Because the kidnapper played it before he fell asleep? Did he brush his teeth too, making the toothpaste a sidekick to the PSP? Heaven forbid the man took a dump before falling asleep.

******

JOYSTIQ NEWSFLASH UPDATE!

-POOP SAVES KIDNAPPER-

Joystiq, through its peerless investigative reporting ("we saw it on another blog") has learned that the kidnappers do in fact eat food!

Shortly before falling asleep (Ed- Criminals require sleep?) the kidnapper took a massive crap, leaving a steaming pile in the john. Tired from taking a massive poop (and torturing people like a jerk), the cowardly crapping kidnapper (Ed- alliteration sounds good and sells!) fell asleep.

While the lethargic lawbreaker lay(Ed -2 for 2!), the victim escaped. The tired torturers were later apprehended.

In a statement to the press, the victim thanked the steaming pile of poop. "If that dump didn't decide to come out, I would still be in there, forced to listen to my aggressor playing Ape Escape Academy." The poop refused comment. The mayor's office released a press release, giving the daring dookie (Ed- BAM!) a key to the city.

Poop saved Butch from Vincent... so yeah it could work.

Dude you are stupid,unfunny and mostly annoying,go post in kotaku where you belong.

So the PSP has a use other than porn and card games after all. Then again...

What do you mean porn? Oh... adult porn not kiddie porn like what the DS makes. LOL, I love my DS but I am not down with japanese kiddie porn DS games

How could the criminal play all day on the PSP's battery? Also there are other activities he could have tired himself out with...

Now if everyone would've listened to the big uncle Jack - none of this would have ever happened.

Shame on you.

Now, shit- I need to go shoot something.

You idiots seem to be just babbling on about the psp in this case when what really should strike you is the: "kidnapped and tortured for nine" GOD DAMN... I still can't believe we have sick twisted people like that today...

Edit: ...nine days"

This proves that though ppl buy the DS it does not mean they actually play it or it proves that it gets boring fast.

1) There are more DS fanboys on this site consistantly posting; even on the PSP fanboys site.
-Maybe b/c the PSP games have more in-dept games and not just mini games or pointless games like Nintendogs.

2)Other than the stats of how many systems sold. The PSP or other Playstation systems has stories behind them of ppl actually playing them. (this story, the police in Europe caught playing in his car with a soccer game, the bus driver in US playing GTA, etc.)
-DS fanboy- "but the stats, its all about the stats"

Though I have a DS, the only thing making me play it is Glory Days 2 and the fact that I got all my games FREE---- R4DS baby!!

meh, doesnt sound like the PSP played much a part.

The US Government should give Sony a hero's medal.

...Yeah, I'm kind of lost on how the PSP single-handedly saved the guy as well. When I saw the article's title, I thought the victim beat the snot out of the kidnappers with the handheld or used the browser to email for help.

Possibly in an even more hilarious course of action... The victim fired the memory stick at one of the kidnapper's eyes(try it! Those things go flying out of there with a good press down on the eject mechanism), and sliced the other one open with a case-seperated UMD disc. Yep, it would probably even get a nod from Frank Castle if the guy tried that. >:]

Moral of the story. Bad people play PSP

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Kidnap victim saved by the PSP

Reader Comments (50)

Posted: Aug 16th 2007 3:03PM CommentSystem said

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