Four sentenced in 2023 Lawrence kidnapping, robbery case

A 65-year-old Lawrence man spent about 10 hours bound with duct tape and blindfolded with a pillowcase before a federal case that crossed Lawrence, Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri ended with four prison sentences.

Tahreon L. Allen received the longest term, 262 months, followed by Mustafa D. Muhammad-Springs at 204 months, Jean Willy Petit Frere at 135 months, and Tamara U. Jackson at 54 months. All four pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping in the 2023 home invasion that began in the middle of the night on May 30 in the 4600 block of Nicklaus Drive, where prosecutors said Allen, Petit Frere and another suspect forced the victim from his home at gunpoint and demanded money.

Federal prosecutors said the kidnappers stole cash and two vehicles, moved the victim to various locations, and later linked up with Muhammad-Springs in Kansas City, Kansas. The victim was then driven back to his Lawrence home, where a third vehicle was taken, before he was taken back into the Kansas City area. At one point, prosecutors said, Muhammad-Springs called Jackson and asked her to find a place to hide the victim, and she arranged to have him placed in the basement of her Kansas City, Missouri apartment.

The case turned when bystanders confronted Muhammad-Springs and a co-conspirator as they tried to move the victim back into one of the stolen vehicles and physically pulled him from the car. Allen was later arrested after he drove one of the stolen vehicles to his place of work. The FBI and the Lawrence Police Department investigated the case.

The sentencing closes a violent case that had already drawn alarm in Douglas County when it was first described in July 2023 through an affidavit that said the victim feared he would be killed and described the place he was taken to as a “concrete tomb.” For Lawrence, the case is a sharp reminder of how quickly an older resident can be isolated in his own home, moved across city lines, and held for hours before anyone can intervene. The sentence spread also reflects each defendant’s role in the crime, with Allen and Muhammad-Springs receiving the heaviest prison terms and Jackson receiving the shortest after prosecutors said she helped conceal the victim in her basement.