Zachary Boyd and Cece Prak (Columbus Police Dept.)
Three people in Ohio have been arrested after being accused of their own form of vigilante justice when they caught a 13-year-old boy trying to steal one of their cars, then allegedly abducted the child at gunpoint and held him for ransom. Zackary Boyd, 21, Cece Prak, 20, and a third juvenile male were arrested and charged with first-degree felony kidnapping to hold for ransom, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
The identity of the juvenile suspect has not been released.
According to court records obtained by the Columbus Dispatch, the suspects on Thursday, Jan. 25 allegedly spotted the 13-year-old boy breaking into a Kia automobile owned by Prak. The car was parked out in front of an apartment complex in the 4100 block of Tarkton Square North, which is about 10 miles from Columbus, Ohio. The suspects reportedly all lived in the building.
Boyd and the juvenile suspect reportedly went outside armed and pointed guns at the boy, who was already inside the car, and then allegedly assaulted him, police said.
The two were then reportedly joined by Prak, and the trio forced the 13-year-old into an apartment.
Prak at approximately 5:30 a.m. took the boy’s cellphone and called his father, Columbus CBS affiliate WBNS reported. She reportedly demanded that the father pay them $3,000, telling him that she caught his son inside her car and he had damaged her ignition switch. Prak allegedly threatened the father, saying that they would not release his boy until the ransom money was sent using the Cash App.
Instead of paying the money, the father called 911. Using the Cash App account where the father was supposed to send the money, investigators were able to track the IP address. A short while later, a SWAT team with the Columbus Division of Police responded to the home and made entry, where they located the 13-year-old boy unharmed inside. All three suspects were subsequently arrested.
Boyd and Prak made their first appearances in court on Friday before Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Andrea Peeples, who reportedly appeared disturbed by the facts presented in the case.
“I understand the minimal record, but we are definitely in the wild, wild west here with people taking justice into their own hands if the facts are to be believed,” she said during the hearing, according to WBNS.
Peeples set bond for both Prak and Boyd at $500,000, records show.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said that people need to remember that vigilante justice is not something people should act on.
“Don’t take justice into your own hands. But I do think it is evidence and a reflection of the frustration people have,” he said in a statement to WBNS. “They want to be able to maintain their livelihood and they know that may not happen if their car is stolen.”
Klein also noted that the city’s lawsuit against Hyundai and Kia for manufacturing cars that “can be stolen by anyone with virtually no effort,” the complaint states. The city is seeking $75,000 for the strain it claims the car companies have put on the local police force.
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