EAGLE, Idaho — An Eagle kidnapping victim faced his alleged attacker in court Monday afternoon, testifying about being tased, tied up and beaten in the Eagle foothills last month during what he thought was a motorcycle photoshoot.
Jordan Carrillo, 18, sat just feet away from Steen Lamb, 22, during the preliminary hearing at Ada County courthouse. Lamb is accused of luring Carrillo to a fake photoshoot in the Eagle foothills on September 4.
Watch to see Jordan Carrillo take the stand for the first time.
"He was like, full on staring. It didn't make me uncomfortable. I just stared right back," Carrillo said.
Idaho News 6 was the only media inside the Ada County courthouse Monday afternoon, where the only witnesses to testify were Carrillo himself and Ada County Sergeant Marlon McCowan.
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Prosecutors say Lamb, along with co-suspect Devin Larson, 21, lured Carrillo to a housing development off Highway 16 under the disguise of a motorcycle photoshoot. Carrillo testified he met someone named Bobby at Haunted World, who expressed interest in his bike for a photoshoot.
Carillo testified that Bobby had reached out 3 months before September 4, and the photography session was constantly being rescheduled because certain people couldn't make it.
Carrillo said he arrived at the location at exactly 9:15 p.m. He saw a red truck and a white van, along with someone he didn't recognize - later identified as Devin. Carrillo recognized the truck as belonging to Steen Lamb, whom he knew through his girlfriend.
Carrillo stated that he posed for a photo next to his motorcycle, facing Devin, who had pulled out an iPhone. As Devin went to snap the first photo, Jordan felt a taze in the back. His whole body tensed up, and he was tackled to the ground from behind, then zip-tied.
Jordan said during his court testimony that his first thought was 'I'm being detained by law enforcement' but then once he felt the zip ties, he knew it was an ambush.
Carrillo testified that he was zip-tied, kicked, dragged and interrogated for 4 hours. He was kicked in the stomach and head, and someone stepped on his crotch. A tan, white tarp was put over his whole body so he couldn't breathe or see well.
Lamb was making statements and asking questions during the interrogation, according to Carrillo's testimony. He couldn't remember the total number of times he had been tased - first on his back, then later on his stomach.
Carrillo says he was forced to give up his phone password after being threatened they would shoot him and taze him more if he didn't comply. He felt something heavy pressed against his chest that he believed might be a gun.
Carrillo testified he was then forced to send scripted text messages and make calls to family members and his girlfriend. The texts said he had bad intentions toward his girlfriend and was breaking up with her.
He said he called his best friend, his dad, his stepmom and his mom, telling them he was okay and would never talk to his girlfriend again.
Carrillo said during his testimony that they threatened to shoot him if he tried anything 'funny' or said anything that gave away he wasn't okay over the phone.
Both of Carrillo's parents said seeing Lamb step into the courtroom triggered a flood of emotions. They comforted Carrillo as Lamb was escorted in, and Lamb was observed shaking during portions of the testimony.
"It was definitely intense. I thought I was gonna be able to hold it together a lot better," said Mikey Carrillo, Jordan's father.
"Oh, I started shaking. I got really angry, like it's, I'm always gonna be angry," said Jenniffer Carrillo, Jordan's mother.
Carrillo testified that throughout the interrogation, Lamb brought up his girlfriend and said he didn't like Carrillo's behavior toward her. Carrillo said Lamb was "obsessed" with his girlfriend and had been constantly reaching out to her before the kidnapping. She eventually blocked him.
Carrillo said Lamb had admitted to loving her shortly before the kidnapping.
On the stand, Sergeant Marlon McCowan testified about his interview with Lamb after the incident. McCowan said Lamb confessed to tasing Carrillo 3 times - twice in the back and once in the front - and tying him up with baling twine.
According to Sgt. McCowan, Lamb said they put black plastic sheeting over Jordan's motorcycle helmet visor, rolled him over onto his back and started kicking him before tasing him in the stomach.
McCowan says Lamb told the detective the entire incident took about an hour. When asked about his feelings toward Carillo's girlfriend and if he had any remorse, Lamb said 'yes,' but felt he had to do this to defend her since no one else was.
Carrillo testified that when he was released, they cut off the zip ties and gave him back his phone and bag.
"If you tell anyone, we'll find you and we'll find someone you love and do this all over again," Carrillo quoted on the stand.
The ongoing threat still weighs on the family.
"It almost, it's, it's very hard to go to sleep at night, even though he's incarcerated. Things like that, especially when you got a family to protect, it's, it's extremely... It's nerve-wracking," Mikey Carrillo said.
Carrillo said he was relieved after the court hearing was over.
"I guess seeing him in the orange jumpsuit, it did like, you know, I guess I finally got to see that, you know, he is contained somewhere, so I guess it was just more of a satisfying feeling," Carrillo said.
Lamb's next district court arraignment will take place at 8:30 a.m. on October 29. Larson, who previously bonded out of jail, waived his right to a preliminary hearing and is expected back in court on October 22.
