When a Salt Lake City, Utah, man discovered someone had vandalized his Chevy Aveo, his first instinct was to kidnap the children he believed were responsible and not free them until someone agreed to pay for the repair a move that landed him in jail and will likely now cost him more than a fresh coat of paint.
Juan Lopez, 21, discovered someone had spray-painted an obscenity on his car on June 30 and drove through a park in Salt Lake City with his 16-year-old cousin to try to track down the vandals. The pair found two 11-year-olds and a 12-year-old they believed were the guilty parties and forced them into the car, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
Next, Lopez dropped off his cousin and one of the boys at a local body shop, continued driving, and proceeded to call the boys’ parents, demanding they pay $1,000 for the damage to his car in exchange for the safe return of their sons, according to the Tribune. One of the mothers immediately called police, who stopped Lopez in the vandalized Aveo shortly after. The boys weren’t hurt during the incident.
Lopez was charged with kidnapping and is being held in jail on $250,000 bond. The 12-year-old admitted to spray-painting Lopez’s car and was charged with vandalism.