#JusticeForManny - Karl Menz sentenced to 20 years in prison for kidnapping 3-year-old son Manny

#JusticeForManny - Karl Menz will spend 20 years in prison for kidnapping his 3-year-old son Emmanuel from a Crestview Burger King. www.facebook.com/helpfindmanny Here is a message from Manny's foster family who has sheltered him before and during all of this tragedy: The nightmare is finally over for us. And we can now get on with our family and our lives. Thank you so much to everyone who has been behind us and for all your prayers for our family and Manny. We are kind of at a loss for words right now... With all of the support from everyone, as well as the emotions we are sharing, we are feeling the same as we were, just like the day he was found after being kidnapped. The adoption should be done in the next couple of months. We will never give up on Manny, he is our baby. And it finally seems real now that both of these two are in prison. Even though the adoption has been moving slowly, it finally seems real today. Thank you all for your love and support! -John & Family And now for the rest of the story from today... Karl Menz will spend 20 years in prison for kidnapping his 3-year-old son Emmanuel from a Crestview Burger King. http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/20160919/man-gets-20-years-for-kidnapping-son-from-fast-food-eatery Circuit Court Judge Michael Flowers said in passing sentence that Menz was the clear mastermind of a crime he carried out March 6, 2014 with the help of his wife, Virginia Lynch. “The court is very mindful of his relative control over the proceedings,” Flowers said. Lynch had previously been ordered to serve seven years for her role in the crime. Defense attorney Ryan Mynard sought a sentence identical to the one Lynch had received. He argued that Menz had no prior criminal history and believed Emmanuel was in danger when the child was taken from him and placed in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families. Assistant State Attorney Christine Bosau, who convinced a jury in June to convict Menz on charges of kidnapping and interference with custody, requested a maximum sentence of 35 years. She said Emmanuel had been taken from Menz and Lynch in the first place “because he (Menz) was found to be a danger.” The bold, daylight kidnapping took place during a lunch-time visitation at the Burger King that had been arranged at the request of Menz and Lynch. The couple ran out the door with the child when a social worker went to the bathroom. They placed Emmanuel in the back of a rented U-Haul van and fled the state. Crestview Police Chief Tony Taylor described the kidnapping as “meticulously planned and very well executed.” A nation-wide manhunt concluded 28 days after Emmanuel was last seen when Menz and Lynch were taken into custody in Nevada. FBI agents acting on a tip caught up to couple in the town of Henderson. The pair had removed identifying decals from the van they’d stolen and had been moving between campsites, authorities said following the arrest. Menz was ordered to serve 15 years on the kidnapping charge and five more on the interference with custody charge. The sentence will be followed by 10 years probation. Menz is scheduled to appear in court again this month as attorneys prepare for an Oct. 10 trial on charges he sexually battered a girl more than 30 times between 2009 and 2013. http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/20160919/man-gets-20-years-for-kidnapping-son-from-fast-food-eatery To stay tuned to updates, please follow Manny's facebook page at www.facebook.com/helpfindmanny