ST. LOUIS — A Louisiana bounty hunter and his partner could get up to life in prison for kidnapping a St. Peters woman in 2019, officials said.
Wayne D. Lozier Jr., 44, and Jody L. Sullivan, 67, forcibly removed a woman from a St. Peters, Missouri home and took her across state lines.
It took jurors in St. Louis' U.S. District Court less than two hours Thursday to convict Lozier of kidnapping and conspiracy charges, a written release from the U.S. Attorney's Office of Eastern Missouri said. Sullivan pleaded guilty Sept. 28 to the same criminal charges.
Lozier and Sullivan, both from the New Orleans area, were hired by A Affordable Bail Bonds as surety recovery agents to find and return the victim. She had an arrest warrant for two misdemeanor offenses from the 22nd Judicial District Court in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana.
Despite not being licensed to work in Missouri and notifying local police, the pair drove to St. Charles County in May 2019 in an SUV that Sullivan rented, armed with guns, Tasers and a body-worn camera. The men entered the St. Peters home and headed toward the basement where the woman was staying.
Officials said the men told the homeowner they didn't need his permission to enter.
"They handcuffed her and transported her without her consent in their SUV, heading for Louisiana," the release said.
On the way back to Louisiana, they stopped at a gas station in Sullivan, Missouri. There, the victim begged gas station employees to call the police, but no one helped.
"Lozier shocked the victim multiple times with a Taser. He and Sullivan dragged the victim out of the store by the chain that connected her handcuffs and leg shackles," the release said.
St. Peters Police Department officers got a hold of Lozier on the phone before he left Missouri. Police told Lozier he was committing multiple crimes, advising him to return her to St. Peters or drop her off at the nearest police department.
"Lozier refused, instead dropping her off at a Mississippi detention facility before returning home and collecting $500 plus expenses," the statement said. "The victim remained at the detention facility for about a week before she was released."
Sullivan's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20, and Lozier's is planned for Jan. 3.
