Man Kidnaps 2 Women on The Same Day with No Apparent Cause (CA Penal Code 207, 208, 209, & 209.5)

No one really knows why 23-year-old Mountain View resident (name withheld in order to protect the privacy of the accused) decided to kidnap 2 women this past Sunday; motive for the strange crime has yet to be determined.  It began in San Jose, where a young woman (19) was convinced by him to drive him to Mountain View, which she did.  The problem was that he then wouldn’t let her go.  Eventually, she purposefully caused an accident in the 101 highway.  Later that day, he forced a 61-year-old Mountain View resident from her home and into her vehicle to drive him around East and North Bay.  He was booked on 2 counts of kidnapping  (CA Penal Code  207, 208, 209, & 209.5).

California law dictates that a person must be moved a lengthy distance (without their consent) through the use of force or fear in order for kidnapping laws to apply. There are 2 different types of kidnapping.  First, ‘simple kidnapping’ follows the above definition to a tee and is considered a felony.  If you are convicted of a charge pursuant to this portion of the law, you may find yourself in state prison for a period of 8 years.  However, if you are charged with ‘aggravated kidnapping’ (if the victim is under the age of 14, if you seriously harm the victim or the victim dies, or if the kidnapping was part of a carjacking, for example), then the penalties are stiff.  Also a felony, aggravated kidnapping may end in a sentence of 5 years to life.