After beating him up and shooting him with a gun and a Taser, the victim was forced into a van, tied up, blindfolded and taken to different hideouts for 5 days. The three suspects, including Costa Mesa man Vagan Adzhemyan, allegedly kidnapped the victim to collect a $1 million ransom. The suspects made the victim call all of his family in the U.S. and Russia and try to collect money. A family member told police about the calls made with a 323 area code and police then narrowed their search to the Los Angeles area. Police followed Adzhemyan’s car to the house where the victim was found. He was in serious medical condition because of the gunshot to his bowels that was left untreated for 5 days. Police then noticed that the victim’s ATM card was being used by the suspects, so they tracked them down and charged them with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
Kidnapping is a serious felony and can come with the sentence of life in prison (if the victim was being held for ransom). Some defenses for kidnapping charges include consent, lack of intent, lack of evidence and mistaken identity. Whether you are in Irvine, Santa Ana or Lake Forest, if you are charged with kidnapping, you need an experienced defense attorney on your side.
If you want to know more about kidnapping or your own charges, call Orange County criminal defense attorney William Weinberg @ 949.474.8008 in his Irvine office.