Man gets life in prison for Vallejo kidnappings, rapes
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
A Solano County man who was convicted of kidnapping and raping a minor last year has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
On Tuesday, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office said Kenneth Weathersby, Jr. received the sentence after a jury convicted him on kidnapping, rape and other charges stemming from two incidents that took place in 2018.
In the first incident, Weathersby kidnapped an adult woman at gunpoint in Vallejo. Prosecutors say Weathersby drove the woman around for hours and forced her to perform oral sex.
Nearly two weeks later, Weathersby kidnapped a juvenile in the same manner as the earlier crime. Again, he forced the minor to perform oral sex on him while driving around town. The minor was able to flee from Weathersby when he stopped at a red light, prosecutors said.
The younger victim provided police with enough of a description that they were able to pinpoint Weathersby as their suspect in both crimes. Prosecutors said both victims identified Weathersby as the culprit and testified during his trial.
That trial started last February, only to be interrupted by the coronavirus health pandemic. It resumed with closing arguments in May, and Weathersby was convicted on 10 criminal counts, including forcible rape, kidnapping and making criminal threats.
On Tuesday, Weathersby received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the kidnapping and rape of the juvenile victim. He also received a consecutive term of at least 150 years in prison for the rape of the adult female, with a determinate — or mandatory — sentence of 26 years in prison for that crime.
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