Man convicted of kidnapping, beating Moses Lake man
James Boyd, right, sits with attorney Michael Morgan during his trial for kidnapping and beating a Moses Lake man. Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz presided during the trial. Boyd faces a possible life sentence after the conviction.
EPHRATA - A Moses Lake man was convicted of kidnapping and beating a man he thought ratted him out to police.
A Grant County jury convicted James Boyd, 24, of Fort Washington, Md., on Monday of kidnapping and assaulting a Moses Lake man last January while armed with a gun.
According to the police report and court testimony, Boyd, Michael Meier, 16, of Moses Lake, and two other men took the victim to a mobile home in Othello where they accused him of telling police about a house burglary in which he drove the get-away car. The group beat and kicked him several times before Boyd pulled out a large handgun and said he was going to kill the man for ratting him out. The victim said that he did not tell police about the burglary.
The group forced the man into a vehicle, took his cellphone and drove him to the sand dunes where they said they were going to kill him. The man instead hid under the vehicle when they stopped and let him out. He said Boyd was yelling for him, but did not realize he was hiding. Boyd was a convicted felon facing a possible life sentence for the crimes.
Meier, who was a teenager at the time, was sentenced for his role as a juvenile before later being arrested for shooting and killing Brandon Mende, 16, of Moses Lake, in February.