Kidnapping Lawyer In Conroe, TX
Texas kidnapping law is less about distance than about control. Blocking a door, taking someone's keys and phone, or keeping a person in a car that will not stop can all be alleged as restraint, and the purpose behind it can raise the charge to a first degree felony. This page covers the three levels, the penalties, the defenses and the court process.
What Is Kidnapping In Texas?
Under Texas Penal Code § 20.03, kidnapping is intentionally or knowingly abducting another person, which means restraining them with intent to prevent their liberation by secreting or holding them where they are unlikely to be found, or by using or threatening deadly force. It is a third degree felony, and aggravated kidnapping under § 20.04 is a first degree felony.
Source: Texas Penal Code Chapter 20, Kidnapping, Unlawful Restraint, And Smuggling Of Persons
Understanding Texas Law
How Does Texas Law Define Kidnapping?
Chapter 20 of the Penal Code is built on one defined term: restrain. It means restricting a person's movements without consent so as to interfere substantially with their liberty, either by moving them or by confining them. Without consent covers force, intimidation and deception, so a person who went along because they were misled or afraid is not treated as having agreed.
The chapter climbs in steps:
- Unlawful restraint, § 20.02. Intentionally or knowingly restraining another person. Class A misdemeanor at the base level.
- Kidnapping, § 20.03. Abducting another person. Third degree felony.
- Aggravated kidnapping, § 20.04. An abduction with a listed purpose, or with a deadly weapon used or exhibited. First degree felony.
Kidnapping adds an intent to keep the person from getting free.
To abduct is to restrain a person with intent to prevent their liberation, in one of two ways: by secreting or holding them where they are unlikely to be found, or by using or threatening deadly force.
The purposes that make an abduction aggravated include ransom, use as a shield or hostage, facilitating a felony, inflicting bodily injury or sexual abuse, and terrorizing the person or someone else. The state has to prove the purpose, not that it was carried out.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For Kidnapping In Texas?
Unlawful restraint can stay a misdemeanor but rises with the facts. It becomes a state jail felony when the person restrained was younger than 17, and a third degree felony when the person was recklessly exposed to a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or was a public servant on duty. These are statutory limits, not predictions.
Fine of up to $10,000.
Fine of up to $10,000.
Second degree felony range.
- Unlawful restraint, § 20.02
- Class A misdemeanor at the base level. Up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.
- Unlawful restraint, raised
- State jail felony for a person younger than 17. Third degree felony for reckless exposure to serious bodily injury or a public servant on duty.
- Kidnapping, § 20.03
- Third degree felony. Two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
- Aggravated kidnapping, § 20.04
- First degree felony. Five to ninety-nine years or life, and a fine of up to $10,000.
- Safe release, § 20.04(d)
- Punished as a second degree felony, two to twenty years, if the defendant proves at punishment that the victim was voluntarily released in a safe place.
- 3G status
- Aggravated kidnapping is a 3G offense, which bars judge-ordered community supervision.
Because a kidnapping allegation often comes with other charges from the same event, a single case can carry several ranges at once.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About Kidnapping In Texas?
Can a short restraint be kidnapping?
What if the other person agreed to come along?
How does a domestic argument become a kidnapping charge?
Does safe release make the charge go away?
Can a kidnapping charge be reduced?
Possible Defenses
How Can Kidnapping Be Defended?
Chapter 20 is built from defined terms, and each one is a place where the proof can fall short. Dropping from aggravated kidnapping to kidnapping, or from kidnapping to unlawful restraint, can mean a full felony level or more. An attorney reviews the statements, the location evidence and the timeline. No result can be promised.
Allegations often arrive with aggravated assault, a terroristic threat or family violence charges. Each has its own elements and range.
Safe release is a punishment issue, not a defense to guilt.
Under § 20.04(d), the issue is raised only after a finding of guilt on aggravated kidnapping, and the defendant carries the burden by a preponderance of the evidence.
Evidence in these cases can include phone location data, text messages, vehicle records, video and the accounts of anyone who saw the people together. The kidnapping statutes also include specific provisions for relatives, and a custody dispute may be governed by a different statute.
Consent
Did the person go willingly, and is there evidence of when that changed?
Substantial Interference
Was the interference with liberty substantial, or minor and brief?
The Place
Was the person held where they were unlikely to be found, or somewhere public and known?
Deadly Force
Was deadly force used or threatened, or only described after the fact?
The Listed Purpose
Is an aggravating intent shown by evidence, or inferred from the restraint alone?
Relatives And Custody
Does a relative provision apply, or is this really a custody dispute?
Local Process
What Happens After A Kidnapping Arrest In Montgomery County?
A kidnapping charge moves through bond, grand jury and the felony courts in Montgomery County, and the safe release question waits until punishment.
Bond Hearing
A magistrate sets bond and conditions, which can include no contact with the complaining witness. The nature of the offense is among the factors Code of Criminal Procedure art. 17.15 lists for setting bail.
Indictment
The grand jury can indict on the charge as filed, indict on a lower step of the chapter, or decline to indict.
District Court
Discovery under article 39.14 and motions come first, then a dismissal, a plea, or a trial. Safe release is decided only at punishment, if it arises.
- Where it is heard
- A felony is heard in the district courts at the Montgomery County Criminal Justice Center on 207 W Phillips St, after indictment. A Class A unlawful restraint is filed in one of the Montgomery County Courts at Law and prosecuted by Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
- Who prosecutes felonies
- The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, from the same building as the felony courts.
- Who makes the arrest
- Conroe Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Montgomery County Constables, Precincts 1 through 5, Willis Police Department, Shenandoah Police Department, Oak Ridge North Police Department, Magnolia Police Department, Splendora Police Department, or Roman Forest Police Department.
- Where you are booked
- The Montgomery County Jail at 1 Criminal Justice Drive, run by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
- If the case is appealed
- Appeals go to the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After A Kidnapping Charge?
These steps are general information, not advice for any one person.
Do Not Contact The Complaining Witness
Many bonds forbid it, and any message may be used as evidence.
Hold Back On Explaining
What you say about where people were and why can set the level of the charge.
Preserve Location And Message Data
Phone location history and texts can show where people were and what was said.
List Witnesses
Write down anyone who saw the people together before, during or after.
Gather Custody Papers
If a child is involved, keep every court order and the dates of any exchanges.
Avoid Social Media
Posts about the event can be used by the state.
Talk to a lawyer before any statement or plea, since the range for aggravated kidnapping is among the widest in Texas law and a conviction for it carries no judge-ordered probation. Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential conversation about a kidnapping charge in Montgomery County.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 20: Unlawful restraint, kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 25: Interference with child custody
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 12: Punishment ranges
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 42A: Community supervision and 3G offenses
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 17: Bail
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 39: Discovery of the state's evidence
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Conroe trial lawyer. He's one of the few in Texas, and the entire country, to earn the prestigious title of an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. That means he's gone beyond the courtroom and into the laboratory, receiving in-depth, hands-on training in forensic chromatography, the same kind of testing used by crime labs to try and convict Texans every day.
What does that mean for you?
It means when the state uses blood alcohol or drug testing to try to prove its case, Mr. Mitchell knows how to challenge it. He's trained to:
- Analyze lab results and spot faulty science
- Cross-examine forensic experts with precision
- Break down complex chemical evidence in plain language for juries
This is not the kind of background you find in most criminal defense attorneys, and it could make the difference between a conviction and a clean slate.
Brennon graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law and practices from offices in Orange and Conroe.
Client Reviews
What Clients Say About Brennon Mitchell
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts.
Related Assault Charges
Other Assault Charges Handled In Conroe, TX
Restraint and kidnapping allegations often arise from the same event as an assault or a family violence report. See the full Assault Crimes defense overview for Conroe.
Assault
One statute, three kinds of accusation, and a range that runs from a fine-only ticket to a felony.
Aggravated Assault
An assault plus serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon: a second degree felony, and first degree in situations the statute lists.
Vehicular Assault
Not an offense by that name in Texas. An injury crash is charged under one of four statutes, and the one chosen sets the range.
Deadly Conduct
Creating a risk of serious injury with no one needing to be hurt: a Class A misdemeanor, or a third degree felony when shots are fired.
Family Violence
An assault or threat between family, household members or dating partners, with protective orders, firearm limits and a finding that stays on the record.
Injury To A Child Or Elderly Person
A felony at every level, graded by the harm and the mental state, and chargeable for failing to act as well as for acting.
Terroristic Threats
A threat of violence made with a listed purpose: Class B at the base, and up to a third degree felony depending on the target and the intent.
Common Questions
Kidnapping Questions People In Conroe Ask
Is kidnapping a felony in Conroe, TX?
Kidnapping under Texas Penal Code § 20.03 is a third degree felony, with two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Aggravated kidnapping under § 20.04 is a first degree felony, five to ninety-nine years or life. Unlawful restraint under § 20.02, the lowest step in the chapter, is a Class A misdemeanor at its base level.
What is unlawful restraint in Montgomery County?
Unlawful restraint under § 20.02 is intentionally or knowingly restraining another person. Restraint means restricting a person's movements without consent so as to interfere substantially with their liberty, either by moving them or by confining them. The base level is a Class A misdemeanor, with higher levels for a person younger than 17 and for certain other facts.
Does kidnapping in Conroe, TX require moving the person somewhere?
Restraint can be accomplished by confining a person where they already are, so moving them is not required, and the statute sets no minimum distance or time. Kidnapping adds abduction: restraint with intent to prevent the person's liberation by secreting or holding them where they are unlikely to be found, or by using or threatening deadly force.
What makes a kidnapping aggravated in Montgomery County?
Aggravated kidnapping under § 20.04 is an abduction carried out with an intent the statute lists, such as holding the person for ransom, using them as a shield or hostage, facilitating a felony or flight after one, inflicting bodily injury or sexual abuse, terrorizing them or a third person, or interfering with a governmental or political function. Using or exhibiting a deadly weapon during the abduction also qualifies.
What is the safe release issue in a Conroe, TX aggravated kidnapping case?
Under § 20.04(d), at the punishment stage the defendant can raise whether they voluntarily released the victim in a safe place. If the defendant proves it by a preponderance of the evidence, the offense is punished as a second degree felony, two to twenty years, instead of a first degree felony. It has no effect on the finding of guilt.
Is aggravated kidnapping a 3G offense in Conroe, TX?
Aggravated kidnapping is listed in Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.054, which is the modern home of the 3G list. A judge cannot place a person on regular community supervision after a conviction for a listed offense, and parole eligibility is affected. The exact parole timing is set by the Government Code and is worth confirming with an attorney.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
Your Freedom Is Our Fight
Aggravated kidnapping carries one of the widest ranges in the Penal Code. Calling early leaves more of the options on the table.
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