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§ 30-4-1 NMSA 1978

Kidnapping

Applied in 10 court decisions — leading case United States v. Gonzalez-Ramirez (2007)

Most recently applied in United States v. Chavarria (June 2025)

1953 Comp., § 40A-4-1, enacted by Laws 1963, ch. 303, § 4-1; 1973, ch. 109, § 1; 1995, ch. 84, § 1; 2003 (1st S.S.), ch. 1, § 2.

How often courts cite this section

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citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

A. Kidnapping is the unlawful taking, restraining, transporting or confining of a person, by force, intimidation or deception, with intent:

(1) that the victim be held for ransom;

(2) that the victim be held as a hostage or shield and confined against his will;

(3) that the victim be held to service against the victim’s will; or

(4) to inflict death, physical injury or a sexual offense on the victim.

B. Whoever commits kidnapping is guilty of a first degree felony, except that he is guilty of a second degree felony when he voluntarily frees the victim in a safe place and does not inflict physical injury or a sexual offense upon the victim.

Official source: NMOneSource (New Mexico Compilation Commission). Reproduced from public-domain New Mexico statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.