Florida Kidnapping Cases

Kidnapping sounds like a plot point for a screwball comedy, and if you are of a certain age, you probably watched plenty of movies when you were young where the heroes had to save someone from being kidnapped. Out-of-town relatives, the ones whose visits you dread, often joke about kidnapping your children or pets; when the visit ends, you aren’t sure that your children and pets are safely in your care until the Flight Stats website confirms that the visitors’ plan has taken off. In Florida, charges of kidnapping apply if you imprison or abduct a person against the person’s will in order to commit another crime, including but not limited to violence against the kidnapped person or collecting ransom. Kidnapping, a first-degree felony, differs from false imprisonment, a third-degree felony, in that kidnapping involves the intent to commit additional crimes. The maximum penalty for false imprisonment is five years, but for kidnapping, it can be longer, up to and including life in prison. Here, our Miami domestic violence defense lawyer explains recent cases in which defendants in Florida faced criminal charges for kidnapping.

Social Media Influencer Pleads Guilty to Kidnapping His Former Girlfriend

In the summer of 2026, a young man in Fort Myers received a sentence of 12 years after he pleaded guilty to attempted kidnapping, domestic battery by strangulation, harassing a witness, criminal mischief, and violating pretrial release. The Court TV website said that the charges stemmed from an incident in August 2023 but did not say what the pending case was where the defendant was on pretrial release at the time.

The defendant asked his former girlfriend to give him a ride, but she refused; he had been spending time with her over her objections that day. He eventually forced her into the car and strangled her until she lost consciousness. The news report did not give any additional information about the context behind this incident and how it relates to another legal case.

In 2020, the defendant was tried for manslaughter after an altercation with neighbors with whom he had an ongoing relationship of enmity resulted in an older man’s death. The defendant was acquitted in the state where the deadly fight took place, when the jury determined that the defendant, facing several assailants, had acted in self-defense. The “no double jeopardy” rule prevents defendants from ever facing new criminal charges related to the same incident. Therefore, the case where he was on pretrial release and where his former girlfriend was apparently a witness, must have been something different.

Professional Athlete Faces Charges for Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping and Armed Robbery

Also this summer, a professional athlete turned himself into police in Hillsborough County after finding out that there was a warrant out for his arrest, and after meeting with a criminal defense lawyer. He is facing eight felony charges, namely three for kidnapping, three for armed robbery, one for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and one for conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

In February 2026, the defendant and six co-defendants were staying at a rented Airbnb house, and a conflict arose when they believed that three guests, all of them young men under the age of 20, stole property from them. The seven defendants started a group chat, where they allegedly frequently mentioned the three teens and planned to confront them. Two young women in the group chat invited the teens to an apartment, where some of the other defendants were already present, with the others arriving shortly afterward. The defendants allegedly held the teens at gunpoint and forced them to get into the car in which they had arrived. The teens left in that car, without suffering serious physical injuries. The professional athlete and some of the other defendants then allegedly left the scene in another vehicle.

The defendant’s public relations representative, an employee of a sports management company, published a statement on the case. She said that the athlete is innocent and that the co-defendants who testified against him after their arrests did so out of self-interest; she noted that the co-defendants have prior felony convictions and could face long prison sentences if convicted in relation to this incident. If the athlete is convicted on all the counts, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. It appears that he plans to plead not guilty.

Contact Our Criminal Defense Attorneys

A South Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for conspiracy to commit kidnapping.  Contact Ratzan & Faccidomo in Miami, Florida for a confidential consultation about your case.

Sources:

wilx.com/2026/06/25/detroit-lions-terrion-arnold-arrested-florida-connection-with-kidnapping-robbery-case/

courttv.com/news/influencer-acquitted-in-stabbing-death-of-new-jersey-neighbor-sentenced-for-attempted-kidnapping-in-florida/