A 17-year-old Lynnwood youth pleaded guilty to first-degree kidnapping Friday for stealing a woman’s car and forcing her to ride around with him.
Michael Allen Marks told the 21-year-old victim and other witnesses that he was a member of a gang, and he was armed with a pistol. Although a juvenile, he was prosecuted in adult court because of the seriousness of the crime, deputy prosecutor Janice Albert said.
He is scheduled to be sentenced March 14 by Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Cowsert. Albert said Marks likely will face a 51/2 -year prison term.
The victim told police she went with friends to visit a friend at an apartment complex, and an agitated man came out of the complex and forced all the people, including a small child, out of the car.
He reportedly got the keys to the car from the victim’s coat pocket and forced her to get back in the vehicle with him, Albert said. They drove to two other apartment buildings. All the while, Marks threatened to shoot the woman if she did not cooperate, Albert said.
Meanwhile, the woman’s friends called police, and a sheriff’s deputy spotted Marks, the victim and the car at a motel in Lynnwood, where the defendant was arrested, Albert said.
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