Man arrested in Tampa kidnapping, rape of DoorDash driver

Bethany Barnes, Tampa Bay Times
Updated ·2 min read
9

Tampa Police on Friday arrested a 38-year-old man in connection with the kidnapping and rape of a DoorDash driver and another woman’s robbery.

Joseph Killins, 38, was charged with armed kidnapping, sexual battery with a weapon, aggravated battery with a weapon, and robbery with a firearm, according to Hillsborough County jail records. Police said he also committed another robbery and faces a charge in connection with that crime.

Police released a composite image of the suspect and had been looking for him since the DoorDash driver was raped.

At about 11 p.m. April 18, a woman in her early 20s was trying to make a delivery at the Residence Inn, 4312 W Boy Scout Blvd, near Tampa International Airport. As she walked to the hotel, a man with a gun forced her back into her car. At the time, the woman had AirPods in her ears and was talking on an open line with her girlfriend, who “quickly realized that a robbery was occurring,” Tampa police said in a news release Thursday night.

The delivery driver’s family called police, who were sent to the hotel. The kidnapper forced the woman to drive north to the Belara Lakes Apartments, off W Waters Ave. near N Armenia, where police said he raped her.

The woman’s family tracked her phone to the apartment complex, where they rescued her from the car. The kidnapper then fired multiple times at them, striking a family member of the delivery driver’s girlfriend, police said.

He fled and both victims were taken to a hospital with injuries that police said were not life-threatening.

The next day, police said, Killens punched a woman in her early 40s at the same apartment complex and ran off with her backpack.

After detectives on both cases collaborated, officers arrested Killens at the Tampa Inn near Busch Gardens on Friday night.

During the robbery investigation, officers recovered items related to the victim from the first attack, according to a news release.

Killens has a prior felony record, including convictions for burglary and aggravated battery.

“My thoughts remain with the victims,” said Interim Chief Lee Bercaw in a news release. “I hope this arrest brings them a sense of comfort knowing that he will now face justice for the crimes he chose to commit.”