Note: we are republishing this story which originally made the news in August 2015.
When federal law enforcement agent Armando Alaniz packed his family’s bags for a getaway to Orlando, he expected theme parks, palm trees, and a well-deserved break from the grueling demands of his job with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. What he didn’t expect was that his vacation would descend into a two-hour nightmare of violence, abduction, and a desperate race against time.
And the four local high schoolers who targeted him? They had no idea they had just pistol-whipped and kidnapped a trained federal operative—a colossal miscalculation that triggered a massive law enforcement manhunt across Central Florida.
Ambushed in the Tourist Corridor
The horror unfolded late on a Wednesday night along Orlando’s bustling International Drive, a vibrant strip famous for its high-rise hotels, gift shops, and vacationing families. Agent Alaniz was standing by his SUV, loading luggage into the trunk, when four young men silently closed in on him.
Within seconds, guns were drawn. The encounter turned violent immediately: the assailants ambushed Alaniz, striking him in the head with a handgun, stealing his wallet, and tying him up. Bleeding and bound, the federal agent was forced into the backseat of his own vehicle.
The suspects—identified as Dante Askins, 18, Gregory McDonald, 18 (initially reported as 19 by some outlets), and two juveniles aged 15 and 16—took control of the SUV and sped away into the Orlando night. For the next two agonizing hours, the teenagers drove aimlessly around the city with their captive trapped in the back, unaware of how quickly the trap was about to spring shut.
The OnStar Rescue and the Escape
Back at the hotel, panic set in as Alaniz’s wife realized her husband had vanished alongside their vehicle. Acting quickly, she reached out to OnStar, the remote vehicle safety and tracking service, requesting emergency assistance to pinpoint the SUV’s location.
When an OnStar operator initiated a remote call into the vehicle’s audio system, the response was terrifying. Instead of a casual driver, the representative heard a man desperately shouting for help from the backseat.
Realizing the situation had blown wide open and that authorities were tracing the vehicle, the frantic teenagers drove the stolen SUV to an abandoned, vacant house known locally as a drug den. They ditched the vehicle with Alaniz still inside and scattered on foot.
Left alone in the abandoned car, the agent managed to slip out of his restraints and summon help. Emergency medical staff later treated Alaniz at a local medical facility, where he received four stitches to close a painful scalp wound caused by the pistol-whipping.
A Rapid Multi-Agency Dragnet
The response from local law enforcement was swift and uncompromising. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings led a high-intensity investigation aimed at rounding up the gang of teenagers before they could strike again.
The first domino fell Thursday afternoon when deputies spotted 18-year-old Dante Askins—a known local gang member with a lengthy rap sheet—driving yet another stolen car less than a mile from where Alaniz had been abducted. The arrest marked Askins’ sixth time facing criminal charges.
By Friday, the rest of the group folded under pressure:
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Friday Morning: The 15-year-old suspect walked into the Orange County Sheriff’s headquarters accompanied by his parents to turn himself in.
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Friday Afternoon: Investigators located and apprehended the 16-year-old suspect.
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Friday Night: Deputies tracked down and arrested Gregory McDonald, completing the capture of all four primary suspects.
Sheriff Demings did not mince words when addressing the community and the press following the arrests, emphasizing that high school status would offer no shield against heavy violent crime charges.
“These high school students were playing a dangerous game, and they got caught playing a dangerous game,” Sheriff Demings stated. “If you are coming to our community with criminal intent, we want you to think twice about it.”
Severe Charges and Increased Patrols
All four teenagers face heavy, felony-level charges including armed kidnapping, carjacking with a firearm, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
The two younger juveniles were remanded to the state Juvenile Detention Center in Orlando, while Askins was held without bail at the Orange County Jail. Following the incident, the Sheriff’s Office permanently stepped up uniformed and undercover patrols across the International Drive tourist corridor to reassure visiting families.
What began as an easy mark for a group of armed teenagers ended in swift federal and local justice—a stark reminder of how fast a violent “game” can end in a prison cell.