Men kidnap 14-year-old, force him to make ransom video at gunpoint, Tennessee cops say

A kidnapped 14-year-old was forced to make a video call for ransom showing him with an assault rifle to his head, Tennessee police said.

Two of the three accused kidnappers got away from police, but one was taken into custody and identified as 24-year-old Cordarius Johnson, according to an arrest affidavit from the Memphis Police Department.

Johnson was charged with especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, carjacking, assault on a first responder and resisting official detention, Shelby County court records show.

The woman who received the ransom video call was tasked with watching her friend’s 14-year-old son on Feb. 2, police said.

The teen was with the woman’s nephew at a gas station when three men showed up in an Acura and carjacked them at gunpoint, also stealing $600 and a cell phone from them, according to police.

They threw the woman’s nephew out of the vehicle but kept the 14-year-old, then two of them drove him in the stolen car to a second location while Johnson followed behind, the teen told police, according to the affidavit.

The nephew ran home to tell his aunt what had happened, but not long after, the woman got a video call from the 14-year-old while he appeared to have an AR-15 style gun barrel to his head, she told police.

The accused kidnappers demanded $1,000 for the teen’s return, according to the woman.

Law enforcement looked for the teen and found the stolen car and the Acura in a driveway, police said.

All three men ran away, but police caught Johnson, who’s accused of kicking an officer while being arrested.

Johnson said he was at the gas station and drove an Acura but “denied involvement in the kidnapping, robbery and carjacking,” police said.

This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Men kidnap 14-year-old, force him to make ransom video at gunpoint, Tennessee cops say."