Kidnapped American Survivor Latavia Washington McGee Arrested, Allegedly Brought Gun to Child's Fight

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Latavia Washington McGee, 34, was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The incident occurred prior to the kidnapping in Mexico. She was released on a $10,000 bond.

The South Carolina woman who survived a shooting, kidnapping and the death of two of her friends by members of the Los Escopriones faction of the CDG/Gulf Cartel is now charged with bringing a gun to a kids’ fight. The arrest warrant alleges that she knowingly took her child to the location of the fight. According to WBTW, police obtained security video of the entire incident.

McGee was arrested on a warrant stemming from a February 17, 2023 incident, weeks before the March 3rd kidnappings in Mexico.

Police said McGee took her daughter to an apartment complex on Spivey Ave in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to fight another girl but was taken away from the scene by a relative, according to the report. But McGee allegedly returned with her mother and a fight broke out between the kids, the two older women, and relatives of the other child. McGee allegedly pulled the pistol from her bag and “started waiving it around.”

“This charge was in no way related to the torture and death that [McGee] went through,” her lawyer, Mark Simmons, told the Daily Mail. “We believe that the police department was doing its job. We are grateful for the hard work the police department does, but we do look forward to the charge being dismissed.”

The charge McGee faces is defined under the South Carolina legislature as one where an adult has knowingly and willfully encouraged a minor to violate the law.

CNN Interview

The arrested came just two days after McGee appeared on CNN in an exclusive interview with Anderson Cooper where she recounted the ordeal in Mexico. The attack came in broad daylight, with armed men ambushing the four friends not long after they crossed the US-Mexico border. Investigators believe the Americans were likely mistaken for Haitian drug smugglers, a US official familiar with the investigation previously told CNN.

The group was driving when they heard a car horn behind them. Brown looked back to see a gun and warned the others not to stop the car, Washington McGee recalled.

Then, the shooting started.

“Zindell and Shaeed, they jumped up to run and they were gunned down,” Williams said.

As someone started to beat on the car window with a gun, Williams jumped out of the driver’s side. “That’s when I was shot in both legs,” Williams said.

Washington McGee was forced into the bed of a pickup truck at gunpoint and the others were carried onto it – a moment captured on video and shared by authorities after the kidnapping.

An innocent Mexican bystander was killed during the encounter after being hit by a stray bullet almost a block and a half from where the Americans were taken, officials said.

Brown & Woodward Died Later

Williams and Washington McGee told CNN Brown and Woodward were both still alive when their limp bodies were dragged onto the truck bed.

The four were then driven to another spot, where they were interrogated. “That’s where Shaeed said, ‘I love y’all, and I’m gone.’ And he died right there,” Williams said.

As Woodard lay dying in the back of the pickup truck, “I told him I was sorry,” Washington McGee recalled. “He said he loved us and he was gone. It was the last thing he said,” Williams said, through tears.
Kidnappers Brought Them for Treatment at a Clinic

Washington McGee and Williams said they were taken to several different locations over the days they spent in captivity, getting blindfolded as they were moved between locations. At one point, the group was taken to a house. Outside, they saw armed people in red, plastic “Diablo” masks who were “pointing the guns to our head, telling us not to look up,” Williams said.

They were also taken to a clinic, where Williams described his leg being placed on a piece of wood and stitched up. “No pain medicine or nothing. They just stitched it up,” Williams said, adding that no one checked to see if a bullet was still inside.

Washington McGee said she was put in a room with Brown, who was badly wounded and dying.

“He was fighting for his life and they didn’t do nothing,” she said. “I talked to him the whole time … I just told him sorry because I asked him to come with me.”

“He was like, ‘It’s okay. I’m your brother. I’m supposed to be there for you. I love you,’” Washington McGee recalled.

The kidnappers told them they would take Brown to a hospital, Washington McGee said, but “they came back maybe an hour later and he was dead.”

At one point, someone showed Washington McGee the video of their kidnapping. She saw herself being forced into the back of the truck.

“I just started crying. I’m like, I’m never going home” she said. Washington McGee and Williams were woken up in a dark room to see a man standing over them with a light. “He was like, ‘There’s nothing that we can do to bring your two brothers back. But we’re sorry. Somebody made the wrong call. They were high and drunk,” Washington McGee recalled the man saying.

“They had police scanners and all types of stuff in their trucks. They knew what was going on. They were always a step ahead. So I was like, they’re never gonna find us like this,” McGee recalled. Washington McGee said she tried to escape twice during the ordeal, “for my brothers to have the proper burial and for us to go back home to our family and kids.”

But eventually, they were dropped off at a wooden shack, where Washington McGee and Williams were rescued on March 7. The survivors and the bodies of their friends were brought back to the US.

Source NY Post, Daily Mail, CNN