Two Utah men are in jail after they allegedly kidnapped a 14-year-old boy and held him at gunpoint because they thought he egged their house.
The teenager told police that a man armed with a handgun came to his Kearns home early Tuesday morning, banged on the door and forced him to get into a vehicle. The 14-year-old said the gun was pointed at his head and he “heard the weapon being racked.”
He was taken to a nearby home where he was threatened by the man who forced him into the vehicle; another adult man who was also armed with a handgun; and two boys armed with machetes. The victim denied egging the house, and was eventually released.
A 27-year-old suspect told police that someone had egged his house at about 1 a.m. on Tuesday. A 25-year-old suspect saw someone walking in front of their house about 90 minutes later, got in his vehicle and chased after that person, who was on foot.
According to a probable cause statement, the 27-year-old suspect told police he got in his vehicle with two other family members — ages 11 and 14 — who were armed with “machete knives.” He also admitted both he and the other adult suspect were armed with handguns. He caught up with the 25-year-old suspect, who already had the victim in his vehicle.
According to the probable cause statement, the two men brandished their weapons at the victim and threatened to call the police, but did not. The 25-year-old told police he “decided to release” the victim and told him to “walk it off.”
The two adult suspects were booked into the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault.
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