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Kidnapping Charges in Arizona?
Your Freedom Can't Wait.
If you have been arrested for kidnapping in Phoenix or anywhere throughout Arizona, you are facing a very serious charge. It is critical that you have the assistance of a criminal defense lawyer who will do everything he can to ensure your rights are protected. Matthew Lopez is a well-respected criminal defense attorney who has handled countless criminal defense cases and has achieved very favorable results for his clients. The lawyers of Matthew Lopez Law, PLLC, take the time to understand their clients’ cases, treats each client with respect and fight hard to provide his clients with the highest level of legal representation.
Forget what kidnapping looks like in movies. Arizona’s statute does not require a van, a ransom note, or moving anyone across a county line. Under ARS 13-1304, blocking a doorway during an argument so a person cannot leave a room can support a kidnapping charge, if the state can establish the required intent.
That breadth explains why kidnapping is so often stacked onto other charges. A domestic dispute that involves grabbing someone’s arm and preventing them from walking out becomes an assault count plus a kidnapping count. An armed robbery where the clerk was told to stay in the back becomes robbery plus kidnapping. As a Class 2 felony, the kidnapping count frequently carries more exposure than the offense the case was actually about.
Matthew Lopez Law defends kidnapping charges throughout Arizona. Contact our firm for a confidential consultation.
The state must prove both a knowing restraint and one of six specific intents. Neither alone is enough.
Restraint is defined in ARS 13-1301 as restricting a person’s movements without consent, without legal authority, and in a manner that interferes substantially with the person’s liberty, either by moving the person from one place to another or by confining the person. Restraint is without consent when accomplished by physical force, intimidation, or deception.
Two points matter here. Confinement in place counts, so no movement or distance is required. But the interference must be substantial, which is a real limit. Momentarily blocking someone’s path is not the same as confining them.
The intent must be one of these six, listed in ARS 13-1304(A):
Paragraphs 3 and 4 are the workhorses. Together they let prosecutors attach a kidnapping count to nearly any assault, robbery, sexual offense, or domestic violence case where the victim was held in place.
Kidnapping is a Class 2 felony by default. The statute provides for reduced classifications when the defendant voluntarily released the victim, and an enhanced framework when the victim is a child.
|
Circumstance |
Classification |
|
Default |
Class 2 felony |
|
Victim released voluntarily without physical injury before arrest |
Class 3 felony |
|
Victim released voluntarily without physical injury before arrest and before any further enumerated offense was accomplished |
Class 4 felony |
|
Victim under 15 years of age |
Class 2 felony sentenced under ARS 13-705 as a dangerous crime against children |
The voluntary release provisions are among the few places in Arizona’s criminal code where a defendant’s own conduct after the offense can drop the classification by two full levels. Establishing that a release was voluntary, that no physical injury occurred, and that it happened before arrest is often the most productive avenue in a kidnapping defense.
First-offense ranges, and whether the state alleges a dangerous offense under ARS 13-704:
|
Class |
Non-Dangerous |
Dangerous |
|
Class 2 |
3 to 12.5 years, presumptive 5 |
7 to 21 years, presumptive 10.5 |
|
Class 3 |
2 to 8.75 years, presumptive 3.5 |
5 to 15 years, presumptive 7.5 |
|
Class 4 |
1 to 3.75 years, presumptive 2.5 |
4 to 8 years, presumptive 6 |
When the victim is under 15, dangerous crimes against children sentencing under ARS 13-705 applies, which carries substantially longer mandatory terms, consecutive sentencing for multiple counts, and no probation or early release.
ARS 13-1303 covers knowingly restraining another person without any of the six kidnapping intents. It is a Class 6 felony, and it drops to a Class 1 misdemeanor if the victim was released voluntarily before arrest.
The gap between a Class 2 kidnapping and a Class 1 misdemeanor unlawful imprisonment is enormous, and the only difference is the intent element. Where the restraint is undisputed but the alleged purpose is not, moving the case to unlawful imprisonment is the objective.
When a kidnapping is alleged to have been committed with the intent to commit a sexual offense, or where the victim is a minor, a conviction can trigger sex offender registration under ARS 13-3821. This turns a sentence that ends into a consequence that does not, which makes the intent element worth fighting on its own terms even when a conviction on some count is likely.
No substantial interference with liberty. The restraint must interfere substantially with the victim’s freedom of movement. Brief, incidental, or minimal restriction during an argument may not clear that bar. Duration, the presence of an available exit, and whether the victim actually attempted to leave all matter.
Consent. Restraint requires the absence of consent. Where the alleged victim accompanied the defendant willingly and only later characterized the encounter differently, communications and witness accounts often contradict the allegation.
No qualifying intent. This is the primary defense in most cases. Restraint incidental to another offense, without a separate purpose from the six listed, should not support a kidnapping count. Where the state cannot prove intent, unlawful imprisonment is the appropriate charge.
Merger and double punishment. When the restraint was inherent in the commission of another offense, such as a robbery that necessarily involved briefly holding the victim in place, defense counsel can challenge the kidnapping count as improperly duplicative rather than a separate crime.
Voluntary release. Establishing voluntary release without physical injury before arrest reduces the classification substantially, from Class 2 to Class 3 or Class 4.
Legal authority. Restraint that was legally authorized, including a parent exercising lawful custodial control or a lawful citizen’s detention, is not kidnapping.
Fabrication and motive. Kidnapping allegations arising from custody conflicts, breakups, and domestic disputes are sometimes exaggerated versions of arguments where nobody was actually confined.
Kidnapping counts commonly accompany aggravated assault, armed robbery under ARS 13-1904, sexual assault, domestic violence designated offenses, custodial interference under ARS 13-1302, and threatening or intimidating.
Kidnapping charges in Arizona usually come down to intent, not confinement. Whether the restraint served one of the six statutory purposes, whether it substantially interfered with liberty, and whether a voluntary release occurred are the questions that separate a Class 2 felony with mandatory prison from a misdemeanor.
We serve clients in Tempe, Mesa, Apache Junction, Lake Havasu, Parker, and statewide. Payment plans available. Every interaction confidential.
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