Felon sentenced to 55 years in prison for kidnapping

A Des Moines man previously convicted of vehicular homicide was sentenced up to 55 years in prison on Friday for kidnapping a former girlfriend.

Troy Mure Jr., 33, pleaded guilty Friday of second-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary, and being a felon in possession of a weapon.

As part of a plea agreement, District Judge Joseph Seidlin ordered the sentences to run consecutively, for a total of up to 55 years in prison. The defendant must serve a minimum of 22½ years in prison before he is eligible for parole. He also was ordered to participate in a Victim-Offender Dialogue.

Mr. Mure admitted that he entered the home of the victim on the east side of Des Moines, while armed with a firearm, and forced her into his car and held her against her will while driving around on Sept. 21, 2024. “I didn’t want anyone to know where we were,” he told the court.

Mr. Mure has three previous felony convictions, including weapons charges. In July 2016, he was convicted of vehicular homicide for a crash that killed Scalicity Boyd, 22, a passenger in the car, on Nov. 23, 2015. Evidence showed that Mr. Mure’s vehicle was traveling 86 mph in the 600 block of 35^th Street when he hit a utility pole.

He was released after serving the minimum term of three years.

Assistant County Attorney Olu Salami prosecuted the kidnapping case, assisted by Ankit Pal and Chelsea Armbrecht. Detective Ben Carter of the Des Moines Police Department led the investigation.