Man Sentenced for Role in Kidnapping of Missouri Man

A 23-year-old Independence man was sentenced to eight years in prison without parole for his role in a kidnapping conspiracy.

Justin Watson was sentenced Thursday for conspiracy to commit kidnapping and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime.

Watson admitted that he and his co-conspirators kidnapped a victim identified as “N.J.” in March 2017. They drove to Colorado and used the victim’s credit card in stops across Kansas.

The Kansas City Star reports that during the drive west, the conspirators discussed killing the victim. Instead, they stopped near Russell, Kansas. They left the victim, bound and gagged, and then drove away, leaving the victim in the field. The victims removed his bindings and went to the Russell police department.

Watson was arrested in March in Kansas City, Missouri.