Neighbor Rescues Man Tied Up, Left to Die in Burning Apartment

A Virginia man who was battered, bound, and left to die in a burning apartment was rescued by his good Samaritan neighbor Tuesday morning.

Clarence “Skip” Kakert, 70, told WSLS that someone attacked him, bound him at his hands and feet, and ransacked his Roanoke apartment before setting it ablaze.

Police say they have identified Omar Romance-Lomax Martin, 20, as the suspect. He remains at large and is wanted on charges of malicious wounding and arson.

Authorities believe that Martin knew Kakert and asked him for money before the incident took place.

Kakert’s neighbor, Chad Corby, immediately notified authorities once he heard Kakert yell for help, ran towards him, and cut him loose.

“He was on his front porch, screaming for help,” Corby told WSLS. “He was tied and bound, covered in blood. He told me somebody came in, asked to borrow some money. He told them he couldn’t do it. They didn’t like that answer, proceeded to beat the crap out of him, bound him, threw him in his tub, and caught his house on fire.”

Corby added that Kakert had “a belt tied around his ankles” as well as “an oxygen cord and a phone cord tied around his wrists.”

Kakert suffered lacerations to his head and was treated for his injuries at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, WDBJ reports.

WSET reports that the Roanoke Police Department and the Roanoke Fire Marshal’s Office are conducting a joint investigation into the incident.