13-year-old boy trying to steal Kia is kidnapped and held for ransom, Ohio police say
Three people are accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old boy when they caught him breaking into one of their cars, according to Ohio police and news reports.
The incident happened Thursday, Jan. 25, in Columbus, where the three suspects confronted the boy when they saw him attempting to steal a Kia, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Columbus Dispatch.
Zachary Boyd, 21, and an unnamed juvenile pointed guns at the child and assaulted him, WSYX reported, citing court documents.
They, along with 20-year-old Cece Prak, took the boy into their apartment, where they called the boy’s father, according to WBNS. The trio demanded $3,000 in exchange for the child because they said he damaged the ignition switch of the Kia.
Police said the accused suspects sent the father their Cash App account for the money to be sent, WSYX reported. Officers tracked the IP address from that account and found the boy safe in the home, police said.
Court records show Boyd and Prak were arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping.
The juvenile, according to the Columbus Dispatch, was also charged with kidnapping.
“We are definitely in the wild, wild west here with people taking justice into their own hands if the facts are to be believed,” Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Andrea Peeples said during a bond hearing, according to WBNS.
