Four elderly men were reportedly held captive in a trash-filled Texas garage for as long as a decade, local media reported Friday.
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"One of them seemed to think he was picked up off the street and brought here," Houston Police Sergeant JW McCoy told KTRK news.
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"In exchange for beer and cigarettes and a place to stay, he had to turn over his Social Security check."
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The men were found locked inside a "prison room" with no beds or chairs and a door that was nailed shut.
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They were freed after police got a call about several people being held against their will. Authorities gave the ages of the men as 79, 54, 74 and about 65.
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Three of the men were unable to walk and were taken to hospital. The fourth, who was in better shape, sat calmly on the stoop as news crews gathered nearby.
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He told KTRX that he had been staying there for about six months and had no desire to leave despite the poor conditions.