Aggravated Kidnapping Lawyer in Nashville
An aggravated kidnapping charge in Nashville puts you at risk of a Class B felony conviction and a prison term that starts at eight years. Tennessee treats these cases as serious violent offenses, and Davidson County prosecutors pursue them accordingly. The defense team at May & McKinney, PLLC, represents people accused of aggravated kidnapping across Nashville and the wider Middle Tennessee area.
How Tennessee Defines Aggravated Kidnapping
Aggravated kidnapping under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-304 builds on false imprisonment, which § 39-13-302 describes as knowingly confining another person unlawfully so as to interfere substantially with their liberty. The confinement becomes aggravated when it happens under one of five circumstances: to help commit or flee a felony, to interfere with a government or political function, with intent to inflict serious bodily injury or to terrorize, where the victim actually suffers bodily injury, or while the accused holds or threatens a deadly weapon. A jury only has to find one of those factors alongside the underlying confinement.
Penalties and What a Class B Felony Means in Davidson County
A conviction carries eight to thirty years in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Corrections, depending on the offender’s range, plus fines up to $25,000. Because aggravated kidnapping requires service of a high percentage of the sentence before release eligibility, freedom comes much later than many people expect. The statute does allow one break. If the accused voluntarily releases the victim alive or gives information leading to a safe release, the court weighs that as a mitigating factor at sentencing. Our attorneys press every fact that fits that provision.
Defenses Our Attorneys Raise Against Kidnapping Allegations
Many Nashville cases turn on whether the movement or confinement was separate from another offense, such as robbery or assault, or merely incidental to it. Under State v. White, 362 S.W.3d 559 (Tenn. 2012), any confinement supporting a kidnapping conviction must go beyond what was needed to commit the accompanying crime.
Our firm examines whether the alleged restraint had independent significance, whether consent existed, whether identity is genuinely established, and whether police followed proper procedure during arrest and questioning. Witness accounts in these cases often conflict, and physical evidence can point in more than one direction.
Acting Quickly After an Arrest
The period right after arrest affects the rest of the case. Bond hearings in Davidson County General Sessions Court set the terms of release and early motion practice. Our attorneys move fast to preserve surveillance footage, phone records, and messages that may support the defense before they are lost. We also prepare clients for grand jury review, since felony cases in Davidson County pass through that step before reaching Criminal Court.
May & McKinney, PLLC, defends people facing aggravated kidnapping and related felony charges throughout Nashville and Davidson County. To discuss your situation with our firm, call 615-256-7337 or contact us to schedule a consultation.
