A father and son are facing federal kidnapping charges after they allegedly zip-tied two U.S. Forest Service employees and held them at gunpoint inside a trailer in Northern California near Mt. Shasta, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of California.
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said the two workers were conducting routine field operations in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest when they were taken last Thursday. They were released early Friday morning after being held for more than 12 hours near Gunboot Lake.
On Monday, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced that Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, and Phoenix Henrichsen, 23, were arrested and charged with kidnapping federal employees.
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According to court documents, the employees were abducted at gunpoint, bound and taken to a trailer where they were allegedly held for the next 15 hours by the defendants.
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Grant said at one point Joseph used one of the victim’s phones to place a call in which he stated that he had “taken two fed [employees] hostage from the Forest Service.
During the phone call, Joseph allegedly said that one of the victims was “zip-tied” with their hands “behind [their] [expletive] back” and that he had “live rounds ready to [expletive] anyone who [expletives] with me,” according to Grant.
The phone call prompted a large-scale law enforcement response involving local, state and federal resources.
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Negotiators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hostage Rescue Team helped to secure the release of both victims after the 15-hour standoff and surrender of the suspects, who are both currently in custody.
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FBI Sacramento acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Tosh said it’s fortunate no one was hurt during the standoff.
“At the time, he [Joseph] had an AR-15 and knives and claimed to have grenades. Crisis situations like this don’t often result in everyone leaving the scene safely,” Tosh said.
When asked if he had a motive for why Joseph wanted to contact the FBI, Tosh said there are “some motivations” but the team is still gathering evidence.
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“If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of California said.
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Forest Service Chief Schultz said the well-being of the two U.S. Forest Service employees continues to be its highest priority.
“We’re staying close to them and their loved ones, making sure they have the support and the space that they need after what they’ve been through,” he said of the two unidentified workers.
—With files from The Associated Press
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