PRESS RELEASE
August 13, 2019
Kerstin Reese Sentenced to 317 Years in Prison
Montgomery County, Ala. – A Montgomery County man has been sentenced by Judge James Anderson to serve 317 years in prison for the 2016 kidnapping, robbery, and attempted murder of a Montgomery woman, District Attorney Daryl Bailey announced.
Kerstin Reese was convicted in June of Attempted Murder, Robbery First Degree, Kidnapping First Degree, and Criminal Mischief First Degree. He faced 99 years or life in prison on three of the charges because he has two prior felony convictions.
Judge Anderson sentenced Reese to 99 years on each of the Attempted Murder, Robbery First Degree, and Kidnapping First Degree charges. He sentenced Reese to 20 years on the Criminal Mischief First Degree charge and ordered that all sentences are to run consecutively.
District Attorney Daryl Bailey expressed his appreciation to Deputy District Attorneys Haley Steelman, Scott Green, and Ben McGough for their outstanding work. He also thanked DA Investigators Denny Merritt, and T.D. James for their work on the case as well Agent Mike Myrick who came out of retirement to testify as the case agent on behalf of the Montgomery Police Department.
District Attorney Bailey said: “While I am horrified at the senseless ordeal this violent criminal put the victim through, I am proud that my office was able to take him off the streets for the rest of his life. We will now begin to fight to make sure he is never paroled. This sentence is exactly what he deserves and should send a message to the criminals in our city. If you commit a crime, we will catch you and you will go to prison. Enough is enough.”
On the night of September 6, 2016, Reese and two co-defendants burst into the victim’s home armed with guns and robbed her of her jewelry and assorted electronics.
They then covered her head with a blanket and forced her into the trunk of her car, which they then stole and drove to an abandoned house. Once there, she was taken inside the house, threatened with sexual assault, and made to remove her clothes.
She was then placed back in her trunk and driven roughly 15 miles to a field in Pintlala, Alabama, where she was removed from the trunk, beaten, and strangled until she passed out. She regained consciousness several hours later once the sun came up and was able to escape from the trunk of her now abandoned car.
She found her way to Mosley’s Store where she was able to receive help from the store owner. The defendants were seen on surveillance video driving past her as she talked with the people helping her at Mosley’s Store. They then returned to the car, set it on fire, and fled back to Montgomery.
Reese’s co-defendants remain charged and are awaiting trial.
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