Kidnapped man has throat slit, survives by playing dead in Arizona desert, feds say
A man on a road trip was resting in his vehicle when two men shattered his car window, got inside and kidnapped him to an isolated desert region in Arizona — then abandoned him to die, federal prosecutors said.
Jared Josh John got in the driver’s seat of the man’s car while his co-defendant, Everickk Matthew Begay, held the man down in the backseat and hit him in the face in July 2020, court documents say.
The man, whose car was stopped in Navajo Nation territory in northeastern Arizona, begged John and Begay to let him go and offered them his money and his vehicle, according to court documents.
John and Begay robbed the man, stealing money and his credit card, and told him they would “bury” him in the desert, court documents say.
John drove the man’s car and “took (him) on a 30-minute terror-filled journey while John talked about killing (him),” prosecutors wrote in documents.
John stopped the car when they reached a remote area and slit the man’s throat three times, according to prosecutors. Afterward, Begay “stomped on (his) face,” court documents say.
Both men left him bleeding in the desert and drove off in his car, according to prosecutors.
The man played dead until John and Begay were gone and created a tourniquet with his clothes for his neck, prosecutors said.
With his jacket slowing the bleeding, the man got up and searched for help, according to court documents. Two men driving a truck found him and took him to a hospital, where he went through surgery and told authorities about the attack he survived, court documents say.
“In summary, this case is the stuff of nightmares,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
John, 32, of Chinle, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison on several charges related to the kidnapping, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced Oct. 2. He was sentenced Sept. 11.
In May 2023, a federal jury found John guilty of carjacking; kidnapping; robbery; assault with a dangerous weapon; assault with intent to commit murder; assault with intent to commit a felony; and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, prosecutors said.
John’s court-appointed defense attorney, Brent Evan Newton, declined McClatchy News’ request for comment Oct. 3.
“John’s actions demonstrate complete disregard for human life, and indeed, suggest that he took joy in harming (the man),’ prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memorandum.
If it wasn’t for the man’s “remarkable strength and resilience, John would have successfully committed first degree murder,” prosecutors said.
Begay, 55, of Chinle, was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison in August 2023 after he entered a plea deal, court records show.
He pleaded guilty to kidnapping, robbery and assault with intent to commit a felony, according to prosecutors.
Begay’s court-appointed attorney didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Oct. 3.
According to prosecutors, the kidnapped man recovered from his throat being repeatedly slit, but his “voice is permanently changed.”
After John and Begay left the man in the desert, John drove his car to a friend’s home, where John and Begay “divvied up (the man’s) cash,” court documents say.
Though John denied that he took part in the kidnapping and assault, investigators found his DNA in the man’s car by the driver’s seat, according to prosecutors.
When shown a photo lineup of potential suspects, the man identified John and recognized John’s tattoos, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
Ahead of sentencing, Newton argued in support of a 15-year prison sentence for John instead of the 25-year sentence that he ultimately received, court documents show.
Newton wrote that John’s “failures and mistakes have all been the result of his substance abuse addiction” and that he’s committed to recovering in prison.
John and Begay’s prison sentences will be followed by five years of supervised release, prosecutors said.
Chinle is about a 315-mile drive northeast from Phoenix.
This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 11:25 AM with the headline "Kidnapped man has throat slit, survives by playing dead in Arizona desert, feds say."
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