Cops: Iowa Man Faked Death, Lured Girlfriend to Home

Sioux City man held the teen, her friend with a BB gun that looked real, say police
By Liz MacGahan,  Newser Staff
Posted May 15, 2021 12:11 PM CDT
Cops: Iowa Man Faked Death, Lured Girlfriend to Home
   (Getty)

The gun looked real enough to the teen and her friend. Police say Zack Lee Smith, a 20-year-old Iowa man, pretending to be his own father, emailed his 18-year-old girlfriend. The email said Smith had died by suicide and told the teen she could pick up her belongings from his apartment. When she and her 15-year-old friend showed up, they were shocked to see Smith alive, NBC News reports. Police say Smith got the two into his apartment and held them there with a BB gun that had been made to look like a real gun. Smith sent the email on Saturday; the teens showed up late Tuesday evening, KCAU reports.

The younger teen’s brother knew where they’d gone, and led police to the apartment, per NBC News. “Screams could be heard in the apartment as the door opened and the 15-year-old and an 18-year-old … fled,” says Sgt. Jeremy McClure of the Sioux City police. The teens told police Smith was in the bathroom with a gun—the real-looking BB gun. In all, they were trapped in the apartment for less than an hour, say police. Smith was booked and released on a $7,500 bond. He faces two felony counts of false imprisonment. (More weird crimes stories.)

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