Kidnap VICTIM Cuffed — He Has His OWN Charges

When a kidnapping victim winds up in handcuffs faster than his abductors, you have to ask: what on earth is going on in New York City’s so-called justice system?

At a Glance

• Kidnapping victim Jhann Lara abducted at gunpoint in Queens, then arrested for gun possession
• Lara’s background includes prior drug charges and a job in the high-risk jewelry trade
• Abduction suspects remain unidentified and at large as NYPD focuses on victim’s firearm
• Incident highlights public frustration over violent crime and strict gun laws punishing citizens

Kidnapped, Then Arrested: New York’s Priorities on Full Display

Authorities in Queens responded to a brazen abduction on July 7, when 24-year-old Jhann Lara was snatched at gunpoint outside his Woodside apartment. Three armed men forced Lara into a black BMW and drove him three miles away, leaving him bloodied with a slash wound to the back of his head. Despite the trauma, police didn’t waste time arresting the actual criminals. Instead, after reviewing security footage, they found Lara had left a bag at his building’s front desk before being kidnapped. Inside? A loaded handgun. So, while his kidnappers vanished into the night, Lara—a victim mere hours earlier—was slapped in cuffs and hit with criminal firearm charges.

This is the upside-down world we’re living in: a city where violent thugs roam free, while a man who just survived a kidnapping is tossed into the criminal justice meat grinder for daring to take personal security seriously. The NYPD and prosecutors seem more interested in racking up gun charges than finding the men who actually endangered public safety. Lara, reportedly in the jewelry business—a profession notorious for attracting criminals thanks to New York’s soft-on-crime policies—now faces a legal battle that could land him in prison, even as his abductors remain at large.

Victim or Perpetrator? The Law’s Relentless Focus on Gun Owners

Lara’s ordeal didn’t start with his abduction. Earlier this year, he was arrested on drug charges and pleaded not guilty, adding yet another layer to his complicated relationship with the law. But here’s the problem: under New York’s extreme gun laws, simply possessing a firearm—even in a city where criminals operate with impunity—makes you a target for prosecution, not protection. Never mind that Lara’s business puts a bullseye on his back, or that the city’s streets have grown more dangerous as law enforcement resources are stretched thin.

Across the boroughs, honest citizens are forced to choose between risking their lives or risking jail time. Meanwhile, the NYPD—under pressure to show results—seems more intent on arresting those caught defending themselves than on hunting down the career criminals who create this climate of fear in the first place. It’s a system that punishes the law-abiding and lets real threats slip through the cracks. Lara’s case is a microcosm of the broader insanity: a man brutalized by thugs, then victimized again by the state. Welcome to the progressive utopia.

A Wake-Up Call for a City in Denial About Crime and Public Safety

The fallout from the Lara case is reverberating through Queens and beyond. Residents—already on edge from rising violent crime and a sense that the city is slipping out of control—now see another example of priorities turned upside down. Instead of law enforcement focusing on violent offenders, resources are spent prosecuting citizens struggling to protect themselves in a city that refuses to do it for them. The jewelry community, a frequent target for robberies and extortion, is reportedly increasing security measures, but that’s cold comfort when carrying a means of self-defense lands you in jail.

For many, this is the natural result of years of lenient policies, government overreach, and a culture of punishing the wrong people. New York’s leaders claim to care about public safety, but the numbers tell a different story. Violent crime persists, and those who dare to defend themselves are treated like criminals. The message is clear: you’re on your own—and if you do anything about it, expect to answer to the law. Lara’s case is a warning to anyone who thinks the system will protect you. In this city, the only thing tougher than surviving a kidnapping is surviving the justice system’s warped sense of priorities.