FAYETTEVILLE -- The last of three men who kidnapped a woman in Dallas and brought her to Bentonville last year to prevent her testifying was sentenced Thursday to more than eight years in federal prison for his role in the plot.
Theron Vance, 22, of Rogers, was found guilty March 17 by a federal court jury of one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and one count of aiding and abetting, according to court records.
Vance was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Tim Brooks also ordered Vance to pay a $3,000 fine and ordered him to pay a share of $1,832 in restitution.
Michael Roberts, 25, pleaded guilty Nov. 4 in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Roberts was sentenced April 1 to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Roberts was fined $3,500 and ordered to pay restitution.
Jason Petitt, 25, pleaded guilty Oct. 31 to one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Petitt was sentenced April 1 to three years and 10 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Petitt was fined $2,000 and ordered to pay restitution. Roberts and Petitt are from Bentonville.
The three men were indicted last August for going to Yulu Zhang's apartment in Dallas in June, assaulting her and bringing her against her will to Arkansas to keep her from testifying against Roberts, her former boyfriend.
Roberts was awaiting trial in connection with pulling a knife on Zhang in a train station parking lot before the kidnapping, according to court documents.
Police rescued Zhang after she left a note with an employee at the Walmart Supercenter on South Walton Boulevard in Bentonville claiming she had been kidnapped and brought to Bentonville. Zhang was locked in the bathroom when police arrived.
According to prosecutors, Vance told police about four months prior to the kidnapping he and Roberts began planning and a week before the abduction, he and Roberts drove to Dallas to scout the area.
Vance said he wore a fake FBI badge during the abduction and broke Zhang's cellphone so they wouldn't be tracked. In addition, Vance told investigators the location of several items used in the kidnapping including a blonde wig, razor blades, plastic ties and a book on human anatomy. Those items were subsequently found by investigators. Vance's vehicle was used to take Zhang from Texas to Arkansas.
Zhang was able to identify Vance as one of the people who kidnapped her.
"With today's sentence, we hope the victim in this case can rest comfortably knowing that justice has been served to those who terrorized her," U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge said in a news release. "Vance and his co-defendants spent four months planning an elaborate scheme to kidnap the victim, which they then carried out in order to prevent her from testifying against one of them in a pending criminal case."
NW News on 06/26/2015