Kenneth Ray Grubb, Kidnapping, Kentucky 2023

Manchester, KY, men face decades in prison for kidnapping.

Two Manchester, Kentucky men, Kenneth Ray Grubb, 33, and Landon Wagers, 19, were sentenced on Monday, [not specified], 2023, by U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom, to 112 months and 84 months in prison, respectively, for kidnapping. The crime occurred in London, Kentucky.

According to their plea agreements, a drug dealer offered to pay Grubb to bring an individual to them. To accomplish this kidnapping, Grubb worked with Wagers. Wagers called the victim to arrange a meeting at his residence, under the pretense that Wagers had a firearm that the victim might be interested in purchasing. When the victim arrived at the residence, Grubb and Wagers forced the victim into a vehicle and started driving toward the dealer’s residence. Before reaching the residence, Grubb stopped the vehicle and, along with Wagers, struck the victim multiple times and forced him into the trunk. During this, Grubb used metal knuckles to assault the victim, lacerating his head. The drug dealer provided Grubb and Wagers with methamphetamine as payment for delivering the victim.

Under federal law, Grubb and Wagers must serve 85 percent of their prison sentences. Upon their release from prison, they will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for four years in the Eastern District of Kentucky.

The investigation was conducted by the ATF and the Kentucky State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Drew Trimble prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. This case was prosecuted as part of the nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities.

U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier, IV, ATF Special Agent in Charge, Shawn Morrow, and Kentucky State Police Commissioner, Phillip J. Burnett, Jr., jointly announced the sentence.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edky/pr/clay-county-men-sentenced-kidnapping