Bronson, Iowa — A man from the small northwest Iowa town of Bronson who kidnapped his ex-girlfriend has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison.
Twenty-one year old Zachary Smith pleaded guilty to the kidnapping charge in March. Prosecutors say Smith violated a protection order when he hid in the back seat of his ex-girlfriend’s car at about 5 a.m. in June of 2021 and waited for her to come out of her South Sioux City home. She was joined by a juvenile female and Smith lay hidden in the car as they drove to a nearby school. After the juvenile got out of the car, Smith sprang out, threatened his ex-girlfriend with a BB gun, drugged her with homemade chloroform, and kidnapped her, taking her to a home in rural Woodbury County. She later escaped and flagged down a passing motorist that happened to be her aunt, who was in the area looking for her.
