EAGLE, Idaho — For the first time, the Treasure Valley teenager who says he was tied up and beaten for hours in the Eagle foothills is sharing his story exclusively with Idaho News 6.
Jordan Carrillo, 18, drove to a remote area off Highway 16 around 9:30 p.m. on September 4, thinking he was meeting with a photographer for a motorcycle photoshoot.
Instead, he says he endured 4 hours of torture at the hands of two suspects now facing kidnapping charges.
Watch to hear the victim's story.
"I put my helmet on, had my gloves on, and as I was standing, I get shot with a taser," Carrillo recounted. "I just fell to the ground after that."
Carrillo said he realized something was wrong when the supposed photographer pulled out an iPhone instead of a camera.
"When everything shifted and I realized it wasn't a photo shoot— it would probably have to be when he pulled out an iPhone instead of an actual camera," Carrillo explained. "He said he was an amateur photographer."
Within moments, Carrillo says the two suspects, Steen Lamb, 22, and Devin Larson, 21, shot him with a taser and zip-tied his hands and legs before forcing him into a bag and repeatedly kicking and tasing him for hours.
"I was on the ground. I couldn't move. He got the bag, he put me in it, he kind of dragged it and then dragged me in," Carrillo said. "I couldn't see much because there's a bag on me."
"It felt like every muscle in my body just tensed up and I couldn't move," Carrillo said. "I couldn't really breathe that well other than just scream."
Carrillo says he recognized Lamb as a close friend of his girlfriend. He previously thought Lamb had feelings for her, and during the attack, Lamb made accusations against him.
Carrillo says the suspects would ask him questions, and if he responded with an answer they didn't like, they would tase him.
After hours of torture, Carrillo says Lamb began asking personal questions and revealing information about his life.
"After like what, 4 hours I believe, he was just asking me straight questions of, you know, just like who's important to you, and then telling me like— I already know where you live, I know where you work," Carrillo said. "Just basically telling me information about myself, which I thought was crazy. I did recognize [him] by his voice, so I knew it was Steen. I've heard him a couple times. I knew it was him. But I didn't say that because I knew he knew that I knew then."
While he was tied up, Carrillo says the men took his phone and broke up with his girlfriend for him via text.
"Honestly, I would have to say breaking up with my girlfriend was probably the most painful," Carrillo said. "Physical pain would definitely have to be when they shot me," Carillo added, talking about the suspect's weapon choice: a taser.
Throughout the ordeal, Carrillo says he tried to protect himself from the repeated kicks and beatings.
"Every time he tried to knock the air out of me, I just kind of flexed as hard as I could so I didn't die," Carrillo said.
The repeated attacks made it difficult for him to speak when he eventually tried to convince them to let him go.
"The amount of times they did kick me in the stomach, it was kind of hard to speak," Carrillo said. "Mixed with that and like me kind of accepting to die, I was just kind of mumbling the whole time, and like just speaking very softly just because I didn't... I was just tired of it. Like if they were gonna kill me, I just wanted them to do it now. I was just tired of being tased, really."
"Originally, I did think I was gonna die because there was a gun," Carrillo said. "I mean, he said there was a gun pointed at me. I didn't see it, but I felt something heavy pointed on me."
Hours later, after convincing the men he would keep the whole ordeal a secret, they cut him loose.
"He said you're never gonna forget this, right? and I was like, 'No, never,'" Carrillo said. "After that, I sped off. I honestly thought he was gonna shoot me after, but I just sped off."
He rushed to a relative's house and told his whole family what happened.
The attack has left lasting effects on Carrillo, who says he still struggles with anxiety.
"I do still have that uncomfortable feeling when someone is behind me or when I can't see everyone," Carrillo said. "I still do think about what he did and then like how it affected me. It does irritate me a lot, but I just try not to let it get to me."
When asked what he wanted the community to know, Carrillo emphasized the importance of awareness.
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"Be more aware. You know, just be more aware of your surroundings, and [if] something feels off, just be more careful," Carrillo said.
His mother, Jennifer Carrillo, gets emotional thinking about what her son survived and encourages parents to open up communication with their children.
"As a mom, you wanna protect them and you wanna be there for them all the time, and I wasn't there for him when he needed me the most," Jennifer Carrillo said.
"Just having an open communication with your kids so they're not afraid to talk to you about anything, letting them know the reason why you wanna have their location for things that they never least expect," she said.
Jordan says he's not yet ready to forgive and forget and hopes to see the two suspects held accountable.
"I can't really wish harm upon other people," Carrillo said. "No matter how bad it is, I can't do it."
However, he acknowledges the difficulty of moving forward.
"I know a lot of people say you know you gotta forgive people, but I feel like it's gonna be really hard for me to do that," Carrillo said.
Carrillo plans to attend every court hearing until the case is resolved.
Both Lamb and Larson were arrested in connection with the September 5 kidnapping. During recent preliminary hearings, Judge Michael Lojek denied bond requests for both suspects, keeping Lamb's bond at $500,000 and Larson's at $300,000.
However, Idaho News 6 learned Tuesday evening that Larson recently bonded out of jail. However, Lamb remains in custody.
Both suspects face charges of second-degree kidnapping, with Larson also facing a misdemeanor battery charge. They are scheduled to appear in court on October 6.
