The Criminal Defense Law Center of
West Michigan
If you are facing charges for unlawful imprisonment, you have to hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer to handle your case. Trying to deal with this charge by yourself will lead to disaster. Our office has decades of experience handing criminal cases in all West Michigan cases.
The law provides tough punishments for unlawful imprisonment can be found in 750.349b. The law reads:
750.349b Unlawful imprisonment; circumstances; violation as felony; penalty; definitions; other violation.
Sec. 349b.
(1) A person commits the crime of unlawful imprisonment if he or she knowingly restrains another person under any of the following circumstances:
(a) The person is restrained by means of a weapon or dangerous instrument.
(b) The restrained person was secretly confined.
(c) The person was restrained to facilitate the commission of another felony or to facilitate flight after commission of another felony.
(2) A person who commits unlawful imprisonment is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 15 years or a fine of not more than $20,000.00, or both.
(3) As used in this section:
(a) “Restrain” means to forcibly restrict a person’s movements or to forcibly confine the person so as to interfere with that person’s liberty without that person’s consent or without lawful authority. The restraint does not have to exist for any particular length of time and may be related or incidental to the commission of other criminal acts.
(b) “Secretly confined” means either of the following:
(i) To keep the confinement of the restrained person a secret.
(ii) To keep the location of the restrained person a secret.
(4) This section does not prohibit the person from being charged with, convicted of, or sentenced for any other violation of law that is committed by that person while violating this section.
The charge of unlawful imprisonment is a variant of kidnapping and as you saw above the punishments are severe. The law specifically mentions restraining another person. Restrain means confining a person by force and by doing so you interfere with their liberty. It also means you do not have consent to do this by the person being restrained. The restraint could cover any period of time and can be related to other criminal acts.
The legal definition of “secretly confined” means that a person is either keeping the location of the restrained person a secret or the place of confinement is a secret.
The Criminal Defense Law Center of West Michigan and Attorney Shawn James Haff have been handling criminal cases in all West Michigan courts for over two decades. We constantly get outstanding results for our clients. We know how to get our clients the best results possible. We have gotten our clients not guilty verdicts at trial.
The severity of prison time a person faces for unlawful imprisonment is steep. You have to have a five-star rated attorney on your side when you face these kinds of charges. Anything less than an ultra-aggressive defense means you are only adding to the amount of prison time you will face if you are convicted.
Attorney Shawn Haff and his team of lawyers at The Criminal Defense Law Center of West Michigan always make sure our clients constitutional rights are defended. In many cases, law enforcement officers trample on the rights of those accused of unlawful imprisonment. If your rights have been violated, that is a powerful defense you can use in your case. In many cases people do not receive the best defense possible because they go with a court appointed attorney or hire the cheapest attorney they can find. These attorneys may not put forth the effort needed in these cases. We believe everyone deserves to get expert representation! If you want a free consultation, call Shawn now at 616-438-6719. The call is free, will you be?
Both of these crimes carry the unlawful restraint of a person by using force of the threat of force. In a kidnapping case though, the prosecutor has to show an additional element of moving someone from one place to another. The distance can often be a very short one. Another element that in some states is required for a kidnapping charge is holding the person for ransom, using a victim as a hostage or a shield, interfering with political or government functions or terrorizing the victim.
What are you waiting for? The time to call Shawn is now! You can reach Shawn 24/7 at 616-438-6719.