Question Presented The question is whether the U.S. attorney will be able to prove that Steven Kealy is guilty of kidnapping under the federal statute when he willingly detained the child after finding out she was in the backseat of the stolen car.
Short Answer Yes. The court will likely be able to prove that because Steven did not immediately call the authorities when he realized the baby was in the backseat of the car he stole, he is guilty of kidnapping because he willingly withheld the child.
Summary of the Facts You asked me to look into whether Steven Kealy has a case regarding the federal kidnapping charges against him. Steven Kealy is thirty-six years old and lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. R.8. He lived in New Rochelle for most of his life but moved to Louisiana around five months ago to try to get a job at an oilrig.
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United States v. Obregon-Reyes, 507 F. App’x 413 (5th Cir. 2013). In Obregon, the defendant, working as a member or the cartel, kidnapped and killed his victim. Id. His defense at trial was that he did not agree to kidnap his victim. Id. After viewing the record as a whole, the court found that there was sufficient evidence to lead a trier of fact to infer that the defendant “knowingly and willfully” participated in the kidnapping because he willfully committed the other crime. Id. In the Obregon case, the defendant did intend to commit at least one crime when he went to his victim’s house to threaten him. Id. By voluntarily participating in the crime the court can infer that he did knowingly commit the kidnapping. In Steven’s case, he does not contest to stealing the car. The subsequent kidnapping happened because he stole the car. The court will likely be able to infer that because Steven knowingly and willingly stole the car, that he is guilty of the kidnapping that happened because of the