A Center Point man was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison, more than 19 years, for a 2025 kidnapping that ended with his arrest in Bessemer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama said Oct. 5.
U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco sentenced Amarion Dewayne Jackson, 20, who pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to kidnap and kidnapping, to be followed by five years of supervised release.
His co-defendant, Korbyn Markeith Williams, 21, of Alabaster, pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping and receipt of ransom money and is set for sentencing Jan. 13, 2027.
According to court documents cited in the release, the two kidnapped a man at gunpoint from his Tuscaloosa apartment in January 2025 after a third party failed to pay them for a drug transaction. The victim was not involved in the deal. Armed with pistols, they threatened to kill him and demanded at least $5,000 for his return, and Williams received $1,000 of ransom digitally from the victim’s family.
A Bessemer police officer answered a call at a store in Bessemer about an armed kidnapping involving a white car, found the car and turned on her emergency lights. Jackson and Williams, who had come to collect ransom in cash from the victim’s family, were arrested, and the victim was recovered unharmed. Officers found pistols, ammunition, two black ski masks and gloves in the car, the release said. The FBI investigated with the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force and the Bessemer Police Department.