Man pleads guilty to kidnapping Arkansas teen

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (KAIT) - A Tennessee man accused of kidnapping a 17-year-old Hot Springs girl earlier this year has pleaded guilty.

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, in U.S. District Court in Hot Springs, Samuel Bolling of Nashville pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

According to the plea agreement, Bolling faces a mandatory minimum prison term of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000 on each charge. He could face a maximum of life in prison.

He also agreed to pay full restitution to the victim and all court costs and fines.

According to court documents, Bolling said he and Dayla Ferrer of Memphis agreed to kidnap the victim “in an attempt to extort money from her relatives.”

As the 17-year-old victim walked to her car from work on the night of April 18, 2022, Ferrer approached and asked her for directions.

Once inside Ferrer’s vehicle, Bolling put a hood over her head and then hit her in the head with a flashlight, the plea agreement stated.

After leaving the downtown Hot Springs area, Bolling called the victim’s relative and reportedly demanded $10,000 for her safe return.

According to the court documents, if the family did not pay, Bolling said the girl “would be sold to human sex traffickers or cut up into little pieces and disposed of in a lake.”

Following the phone call, Bolling and Ferrer took the girl to a resort where they were staying and held her against her will, including “having her legs and arms restrained by duct tape and zip ties, and a hood remaining over her head.”

On April 19, police found the victim in the 4700-block of Central Avenue in Hot Springs. They took her to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Later that day, police found and arrested Bolling and Ferrer.

Ferrer pleaded guilty in October to one count of kidnapping. She is still awaiting sentencing.

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