Heavy penalties for kidnapping a jeweler a few days before Christmas

Two kidnappers, including a repeat offender, were sentenced to heavy penitentiary sentences for kidnapping a jeweler from the parking lot of a Laval shopping center a few days before Christmas.

The man was simply getting out of his vehicle parked in front of the Laval Center on December 22, 2022 around 9:40 a.m. when two men grabbed him and put him in a Chrysler Pacifica minivan.

“A witness mentions that the victim is screaming and that the driver is wearing a hood,” we indicate in the agreed summary of facts recently filed at the Laval courthouse.

A passerby then called 911 to report the kidnapping, while others took photos of the attackers. These will subsequently be identified as Kenny Manuel Brito Rosales and Hicham Bouchmal.

The police quickly located the minivan on Highway 25 towards Montreal. They then tried to intercept it, in vain.

This is because the vehicle was zigzagging between the lanes and traveling at 170 km/h, even though traffic was heavy in the area. A patrol car even collided with the kidnappers’ minivan.

“We have it, we’re coming,” Bouchmal would have said, according to the victim’s account.

Vehicle found

The damaged Chrysler was found in the Rivière-des-Prairies district only 30 minutes after the kidnapping.

The attackers fled on foot, but the victim was still on board, held by zip ties.

“I hope things like that don’t even happen to my enemies. It’s scary,” he mentioned to Journal a few days later.

The jeweler, who has no criminal record, escaped with a broken nose and bruises.

He also had a bag full of jewelry stolen, which he valued at more than $10,000.

Arrests

Brito Rosales was found near the vehicle in possession of a balaclava and was quickly identified as the driver of the minivan.

Analysis of his cell phone allowed investigators to find his accomplice, Hicham Bouchmal, and to determine that this crime was planned.

They found conversations about the rented vehicle, but also “the price of the contract, a sheet with the victim’s details, a garage in Montreal to go to after the crime, a white blanket to bring ”, he admitted.

Both accused pleaded guilty to kidnapping, robbery, fleeing and dangerous driving.

Kenny Manuel Brito Rosales received six years in prison for this crime.

Hicham Bouchmal, for his part, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, due to his criminal history in similar matters. He was notably sentenced to the same sentence in 2010 in connection with another kidnapping on the North Shore of Montreal.

The two accused have already served part of their sentence since they have been detained since the start of the legal proceedings.