MOORHEAD, MN — A man was kidnapped at gunpoint in North Dakota, taken across state lines to Minnesota and held for ransom in a drug debt plot, according to federal prosecutors.
Kyle Kahalehili Maez-Schaack, 33, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, was sentenced Monday to 30 years in federal prison for his role in the kidnapping, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Maez-Schaack pleaded guilty Feb. 26 to kidnapping, drug trafficking conspiracy, brandishing a firearm during the kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to prosecutors.
According to court documents, Maez-Schaack kidnapped the victim early on March 5, 2024, after a co-defendant and an unindicted co-conspirator ordered him to pick up the victim to collect a drug debt.
The victim owed $6,000 for 500 grams of methamphetamine, prosecutors said.
Maez-Schaack and others took the victim at gunpoint from Fargo, North Dakota, to Moorhead, Minnesota, according to prosecutors.
Once in Moorhead, the victim was held for ransom and ordered to call family and friends to ask for money, officials said. The victim was unable to raise the funds, despite several calls, according to prosecutors.
At one point, the victim was left unattended inside the Moorhead residence and escaped, according to the DOJ. Maez-Schaack and others kept the victim’s vehicle after the kidnapping, prosecutors said.
According to statements made in court, Maez-Schaack was a drug distributor for a co-defendant and was often used as “the muscle” for a drug trafficking organization that primarily distributed methamphetamine in the Red River Valley and Devils Lake area of North Dakota.
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case.
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