Kevin Wynn’s Kidnaper Given 19 Years

A California man convicted in the kidnaping of Kevin Wynn was sentenced to 19 years in prison Monday and ordered to make restitution of some $550,000 in missing ransom money.

In imposing the maximum sentence possible under federal guidelines, U.S. District Judge Lloyd George called the conduct of the kidnaper, Jacob Sherwood, “brutalizing” and “outrageous.”

Sherwood, 23, of Sacramento and Ray Cuddy, 47, a former Newport Beach sporting club manager, were convicted in the July 26 kidnaping of the daughter of casino mogul Steve Wynn. She was released unharmed after her father paid a ransom of $1.45 million.

Cuddy was arrested in Newport Beach a few days after the kidnaping as he tried to complete a cash deal for a $200,000 Ferrari. Sherwood was arrested in St. Louis.

Authorities found $500,000 of the ransom money in the Newport Beach garage of a friend of Cuddy. The men had met at the now-defunct Newport Beach Sporting Club, which Cuddy managed.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Angelo referred to Sherwood and Cuddy as “two perverts” and said the crime left the Wynns and their daughter wondering, “Is it going to happen again?”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom O’Connell said after the sentence that about $900,000 of the ransom money has been recovered.

Wynn obtained the $1.45 million from the casino cage at the Mirage Hotel, carrying the money through the crowded casino in a shopping bag to an employee who took it to a ransom drop site.

The victim was found bound in her car in a parking lot at McCarran International Airport, some two hours after the ordeal began.