More details were released Wednesday about a man accused of kidnapping three children and attempting to hold them for ransom to recoup the cost of repairing his vandalized vehicle.

The bizarre incident started just before 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when a boy was forced into a car in the area of 1500 West and 200 South, near Sherwood Park, said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Robin Snyder.

Juan Lopez, 21, and a 15-year-old juvenile, who police have not named, were reportedly upset that an obscenity was spray-painted on Lopez's new Chevy Aveo. The car owners believed two 11-year-olds and a 12-year-old were responsible, Snyder said.

After finding and forcing the first child into the car by putting a headlock on the boy, the alleged kidnappers forced the boy to tell them where the other two were, Snyder said. Those two also were located and either choked or dragged into the vehicle by their necks, Snyder said.

The children were taken to an auto-body shop near 1900 S. Redwood Road, where Lopez called the mother of one of the victims and demanded $1,000 for the cost of fixing the car in exchange for the release of the children, Snyder said.

The mother told them she didn't have the money and called police after hanging up, according to Snyder.

Investigators went to Lopez's house and found his aunt, who called Lopez on his cell phone and convinced him to come back and talk to the police, Snyder said.

During this time, one of the children was able to escape from the auto-body shop, she said. Lopez dropped off the juvenile suspect at his house and drove home with the remaining two victims. When he arrived, he was met by his aunt and police. Investigators were also waiting at the juvenile suspect's house and took him into custody when he arrived.

The total time the children were detained was believed to have been less than an hour, according to Snyder.

When they returned, all of the children and the two alleged kidnappers were taken to separate locations for questioning, as detectives tried to piece together exactly what happened.

After Lopez was arrested and placed into the back of a waiting police car, he became upset and started kicking its windows, prompting officers to pull him out, Salt Lake Police Lt. Melody Gray said. Lopez was struggling as he was pulled out, and he hit his head on the ground. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment but was released shortly afterward, according to Gray.

Lopez was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail, and the juvenile who was with him, who is Lopez's cousin, was booked into juvenile detention. Both were arrested for suspicion of three counts of child kidnapping, Gray said.

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