{"id":368433,"date":"2026-08-11T14:40:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T14:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/368433\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T14:40:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T14:40:59","slug":"trial-begins-for-man-accused-of-kidnapping-sexually-assaulting-doordash-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/368433\/","title":{"rendered":"Trial begins for man accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting DoorDash driver"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bsbzjq5uowmmijj8.jpg\" alt=\"DoorDash driver kidnapping trial begins\" class=\"sr-only\" data-v-892ef6a8=\"\"\/>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bsbzjq5uowmmijj8.jpg\" alt=\"DoorDash driver kidnapping trial begins\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"vod-poster-image\" data-v-5a75adc3=\"\"\/>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox13news.com\/video\/fmc-h24sfsmca9zrs2hc\" data-v-892ef6a8=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">DoorDash driver kidnapping trial begins<\/a> <\/p>\n<p data-v-892ef6a8=\"\">The man accused of kidnapping and raping a DoorDash driver and shooting someone who tried to rescue her will go on trial beginning Tuesday. FOX 13\u2019s Kellie Cowan reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">TAMPA, Fla. &#8211; The trial of Joseph Killins is now underway more than three years after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox13news.com\/news\/tampa-police-arrest-suspect-in-relation-to-kidnapping-and-sexual-battery-that-occurred-on-april-18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">investigators say he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman who was making a DoorDash delivery.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>   Tampa Kidnapping Trial Underway <\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"WTVT\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-94395e58=\"\">Dig deeper:<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">Killins faces several charges, including armed kidnapping, armed robbery, sexual battery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">Investigators say the incident happened on April 18, 2023, when the victim stopped to make a delivery to a Tampa hotel.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">According to investigators, Killins approached the woman with a gun and forced her to drive to the Belara Lakes apartment complex. Investigators say he sexually assaulted her there.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">PREVIOUS COVERAGE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox13news.com\/news\/investigators-search-for-suspect-who-kidnapped-sexually-battered-doordash-delivery-driver-in-tampa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Investigators search for suspect who kidnapped, sexually battered DoorDash delivery driver in Tampa<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">The victim later described the alleged attack during a bond hearing following Killins\u2019 arrest.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">&#8220;I started crying,&#8221; she testified. &#8220;I started telling him, please don\u2019t make me do it. I\u2019ll just leave and never tell anybody about it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">She also told the court that Killins threatened to kill and rape her if she did not comply.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vlcsnap-2026-08-11-09h35m46s546.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" width=\"932\" height=\"524\" data-v-2fe2fe3e=\"\"\/>  How the Victim was Rescued <\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"WTVT\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-94395e58=\"\">Dig deeper:<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">Investigators say the victim was on the phone with her girlfriend when Killins approached her.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">That call became a critical part of the effort to find her.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">According to investigators, the victim\u2019s family was able to track her phone to the Belara Lakes apartments. Family members then went to the complex, found her, and rescued her.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">Investigators say Killins opened fire as he fled, striking one of the rescuers.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">That person survived the shooting.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">The following morning, Killins allegedly attacked another woman and stole her backpack before he was arrested.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vlcsnap-2026-08-11-09h35m31s635.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" width=\"932\" height=\"524\" data-v-2fe2fe3e=\"\"\/>  The charges <\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">Killins is facing several felony charges in connection with the incident, including:<\/p>\n<p> Armed kidnappingArmed robberySexual batteryAggravated battery with a deadly weapon <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vlcsnap-2026-08-11-09h35m15s577.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" width=\"932\" height=\"524\" data-v-2fe2fe3e=\"\"\/>  <\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">If convicted, Killins faces up to life in prison.<\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"WTVT\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-94395e58=\"\">What&#8217;s next:<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">Killins will face a jury as prosecutors present their case over the allegations stemming from the April 2023 incident.<\/p>\n<p data-v-94395e58=\"\">Killins could face up to life in prison if found guilty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"group-source-paragraph\" data-v-4fbf7207=\"\">The Source: Information in this story comes from investigators\u2019 allegations outlined in the case and testimony from the victim during a bond hearing following Killins\u2019 arrest.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox13news.com\/tag\/us\/fl\/hillsborough\/tampa\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-94395e58=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tampa<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox13news.com\/tag\/crime-publicsafety\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-94395e58=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Crime and Public Safety<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DoorDash driver kidnapping trial begins The man accused of kidnapping and raping a DoorDash driver and shooting someone&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[630,47,629,115,135,137,136,628],"class_list":["post-368433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-crime-publicsafety","tag-fl","tag-hillsborough","tag-news","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}