Suspects in Idaho kidnapping case tased, restrained, beat victim, prosecutors say

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Another person has been arrested in connection to the suspected kidnapping of an Idaho man who was lured to the Eagle Foothills under the false pretense of a photography session, according to court records obtained by the Idaho Statesman.

Devin Larson, 21, was charged with felony second-degree kidnapping and misdemeanor battery after the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office alleged in court that he and another 22-year-old suspect tased, restrained and beat a man sometime before 2 a.m. Sept. 5 in the Eagle Foothills near the Idaho 16 highway.

The victim reported to police that he believed he was meeting someone to take photos of him and his motorcycle, but when he arrived, it wasn’t the person he’d been communicating with, according to prosecutors.

The photographer, who didn’t identify himself, took one photo before the victim was tased in the back, Cameron Haylett, an attorney with the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, said at Larson’s initial appearance. The victim fell to the ground, and Larson and the other suspect, Steen Lamb, held him down while they zip-tied his hands and feet, Haylett said.

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The victim was then dragged several feet across the asphalt ground before a bag was put around his body. The men kicked, beat and tased him while threatening to kill him if he didn’t break up with his girlfriend, Haylett said. One of the men used the victim’s phone to text his girlfriend to break up with her, he added.

Before leaving the victim, the men told him that if he told anyone or went to the police, they’d kill him or one of his family members, Haylett said.

While Lamb was the primary aggressor of the attack, Haylett called Larson’s involvement “equally as egregious.”

“The circumstances here are extremely concerning,” he added.

Lamb, who is facing the same charges, is in custody at the Ada County Jail on a $500,000 bond. Haylett asked that Larson’s bail be set at the same amount.

But Larson’s public defender Bonnie Stender noted her client’s young age and lack of criminal record, adding that while these were serious allegations, they were “only allegations at this point.” The presiding judge agreed to a lower bond of $300,000.

The two suspects’ next hearings are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 22 at the Ada County Courthouse, online court records showed.