New Mexico Escapee Guilty in Kidnapings

A convicted murderer who escaped from a New Mexico jail and terrorized an Arizona family was found guilty of kidnaping and molestation charges by a Los Angeles federal court jury on Wednesday.

James Neal Kinslow, 28, admitted on the witness stand that he forced five members of the family to accompany him after he broke into their Flagstaff home, but he denied molesting the family’s 11-year-old daughter. Kinslow was arrested in a Garden Grove motel on July 30 after he released the girl and she notified police.

After deliberating two hours, the jury convicted Kinslow of five counts of kidnaping and of sexually molesting the girl. Kinslow also was found guilty of one count of transporting a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity, four counts of weapons violations and one count of transporting a stolen vehicle across state lines.

Already serving two consecutive life terms for murdering a mother and her two children, Kinslow faces a maximum sentence of five life terms on the kidnaping charges and more than 40 years in prison on the other charges, according to Assistant U.S. Atty. Nancy Wieben Stock. Chief U.S. District Judge Manuel Real scheduled sentencing for Nov. 23.

“Hopefully, this (conviction) will put an end to a lifetime crime spree,” Stock said. She said Kinslow has been in jail since he was 17.

Kinslow’s attorney said his client kidnaped the family as “insurance” because the governor of New Mexico had issued a “shoot-to-kill” order after Kinslow and six other convicts escaped from state prison on July 4.

However, early in the three-day trial, Real refused to permit Deputy Public Defender H. Dean Steward to pursue that line of defense.

“Obviously, I’m not surprised at the verdict, given the judge’s previous ruling,” Steward said. He said Kinslow wanted the public to know that “he felt like a fool on the witness stand” because he was unable to tell the jury why he kidnaped the family.