FAYETTE — A Fayette man was beaten, kidnapped and transported out of state after being robbed earlier this week.

The FBI has made two arrests in the matter.

According to FBI spokesperson Deborah Madden, two men broke into the Fayette residence of a retired university professor Tuesday, allegedly assaulting and robbing him before driving the victim in his vehicle to Louisiana.

The victim was later apparently transported back into Mississippi, where his kidnappers released him at approximately 4 a.m. Wednesday in Pascagoula.

Two suspects, Arveanious “A.V.” Smith, 31, and Travis Jerome Washington, 18, both of Pascagoula, were arrested Thursday on federal kidnapping charges after a joint investigation by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Pascagoula Police Department.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office also assisted in the matter.

The suspects had initial court appearances before Magistrate Judge John Roper in U.S. District Court in Gulfport Friday. The two men are to appear before the court again at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday for a detention and preliminary hearing.

If convicted, Smith and Washington could face a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Jefferson County Sheriff Peter Walker could not be reached for comment Friday.