Kidnapping Constituting Domestic Violence

When a person commits certain acts against certain other persons – such as a spouse or former spouse, a relative by either blood or marriage, a dating or former dating partner, someone with whom the person shares a child, the minor child or a person, or anyone who has been made the custodian or legal guardian of a person’s minor child – this may be considered domestic violence.

In the context of domestic violence, dating relationship also has a specific meaning – frequent, intimate associations primarily involving affectionate or sexual involvement. A casual, social, or strictly business relationship cannot result in domestic violence.

What is Kidnapping and Its Degrees

Kidnapping can be considered an act of domestic violence if the relationship involved is one listed above. There are two degrees of kidnapping with different requirements to be met for each, and each degree carries different potential sentences. If you have been charged with any type of kidnapping, contact Las Vegas Criminal Defense today to speak with an attorney about your case.

Kidnapping in the second degree occurs when a person willfully and without authority of law seizes, inveigles, takes, carries away, or kidnaps another person with the intent to keep the person secretly imprisoned within the state, or for the purpose of taking the person out of the state without authority or law, or in any manner detains the person against their will.

Kidnapping in the second degree is a category B felony punishable by incarceration in the state prison for a minimum of two years and maximum of fifteen years, with a potential fine of up to $15,000.00.

Kidnapping in the first degree occurs when a person

• willfully seizes, confines, inveigles, entices, decoys, abducts, conceals, kidnaps or carries away a person by any means whatsoever with the intent to hold or detain
• holds or detains the person for
  • ransom
  • Reward
  • for the purpose of committing sexual assault, extortion, or robbery upon or from the person
  • for the purpose of killing the person or inflicting substantial bodily harm upon the person
  • to exact from relatives, friends, or any other person any money or valuable thing for the return or disposition of the kidnapped person
  • a person who leads, takes, entices, or carries away or detains any minor with the intent to keep, imprison, or confine the minor from his or her parents, guardians, or any other person having lawful custody of the minor
  • with the intent to hold the minor to unlawful service, or perpetrate upon the person of the minor any unlawful act

Kidnapping in the first degree is a category A felony. When substantial bodily injury occurs during the kidnapping, it is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life without parole, for life with possible parole after a fifteen year minimum, or for a term of forty years with possible parole after a fifteen year minimum.

When no substantial bodily injury occurs, kidnapping in the first degree is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life, with possible parole after a minimum of five years, or for a term of fifteen years with possible parole after a minimum of five years.

Your attorney from Las Vegas Criminal Defense will be able to discuss your case with you further and look for any possible defenses and arguments, and tell you more about what penalties you are likely to be facing. Contact us today to get started with a free consultation.

In any criminal case in Nevada, the first step is arraignment. At this stage, the accused person will plead guilty, not guilty, or no contest. Your Las Vegas domestic violence attorney will help you make the best decision based upon your specific circumstances. If you pled guilty or no contest at the arraignment, the next step is the pretrial conference. Here the prosecutor will make a sentencing recommendation. It is important to note that, unlike what you may have seen on TV or in movies, Nevada judges are not allowed to give a reduced sentence in a domestic violence case in exchange for a guilty or no contest plea.

If you reject this recommendation or pled not guilty, you will proceed to trial. At this point, your attorney will exchange discovery documents with the prosecution, prepare the defense for trial, file any relevant and necessary pretrial motions, and hire any necessary expert witnesses to testify at trial.

Domestic violence charges may impact your life in other ways besides just the criminal proceedings. They may impact your ability to own and possess a firearm or have negative impact on  any divorce or child custody cases if you have minor children.

If you have been charged with kidnapping constituting domestic violence, you can protect yourself and your rights by contacting LV Criminal Defense today for a free consultation.