Left: Steen Lamb. Right: Devin Larson (Ada County Sheriff”s Office).
Two Idaho men are headed to prison after they kidnapped a teen, tied him up and covered his body with a bag before they sent text messages to his girlfriend from his phone breaking up with her.
Devin Larson, 21, and Steen Thomas Lamb, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree kidnapping. Larson on Friday was sentenced to seven years in prison, with two years fixed and Lamb was sentenced to 13 years, with three years fixed, the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release.
The incident unfolded on Sept. 5 at a subdivision under construction in Eagle, which is about 10 miles northwest of downtown Boise. The victim, 18-year-old Jordan Carrillo, arranged to meet a photographer to take pictures of his motorcycle. Unbeknownst to Carrillo, Larson and Lamb were setting him up.
“After taking one photo, Larson directed Carrillo to turn his back — at which point Lamb appeared and tased him from behind,” prosecutors wrote.
The men then bound Carrillo’s wrists and legs with zip ties before putting a bag over his body. They then repeatedly kicked and punched the victim in the head and body. Larson and Lamb also shocked Carrillo with the Taser several times. The attack lasted roughly an hour.
Prosecutors say Lamb apparently pressed a gun to Carrillo’s chest and “told him he would be killed if he didn’t break up with his girlfriend.”
“The defendants forced Carrillo to hand over his phone and used it to send text messages to the girlfriend ending the relationship,” the press release said.
Larson and Lamb eventually let Carrillo go, but not before threatening to kill him, his sister and other family members if he told cops about the incident. Carrillo rode his motorcycle away from the scene thinking he would be shot in the back.
Authorities did not reveal why Larson and Lamb were so insistent on forcing Carrillo to break up with his girlfriend.
“I commend the victim’s courage in reporting this crime given the death threats intended to silence him. This was a planned, calculated attack on a young man who had no idea what was coming,” Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts said in a statement. “The defendants used deception, violence, and fear to control their victim — and then threatened his family to ensure his silence. That kind of conduct demands accountability, and today’s sentence delivers it.”
