‘I knew if he got on the interstate he would kill me’: Employee kidnapped during armed robbery speaks out

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ST. GEORGE — It was a matter of split-second decisions made by one woman on a recent July night that changed the outcome of an armed robbery that otherwise might have ended in death.

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Just after midnight on July 24, Brandy Parry was working a shift at a convenience store/fuel station in Mesquite, Nevada. Having only started with the company two weeks earlier, she was still in training to fill the position of store manager.

What may have seemed like just another night of training quickly unraveled into a series of nightmarish events that Parry described in greater detail during a recent interview with St. George News.

It began when Kyle Lewis Dynes, 34, of Uhrichsville, Ohio, entered the store that night. After spending several minutes by the slot machines, she said he appeared to become “very agitated,” which led her to believe he might  have been trying to win back lost money.

At some point, she said the suspect grabbed a donut and while eating it he turned toward the counter and said, “I’m going to rob you” and approached the counter where he demanded the money from the register. She said the man apologized and continued saying sorry as he demanded that she give him all of the money.

When the register contained only small bills, she said, the suspect became angry and continued to ask for a $100 bill, which no longer was in the drawer. She said she suspected he had been in the store earlier when a customer paid with a $100 bill. The suspect then pulled out a bag to place the money inside, which is when a black handgun fell on the counter and was pointed at her.

“All I kept thinking was to stay calm, and don’t do anything to make him shoot you,” she said.

The suspect then ordered her out of the store. Once they reached his vehicle, he opened the door and was clearing the seat for her to sit down. She also noticed that the car’s interior lights were not working.

Once inside, Parry said she realized the malfunction with the lights meant that she could keep the car door slightly ajar, unbeknownst to the suspect. As soon as the suspect pulled out of the parking lot, she said, he told her they would drive at least 50 miles from the store and then he would let her out.

At that point, Parry said she did not believe she would be released if the suspect was able to take her that far from the store, which is when she decided to humanize herself in the hopes it would prevent the suspect from killing her.

I told him that I had grandkids so please don’t hurt me,” she said, and further tried to appeal to his emotions in the hopes it would deter him from harming her.

The suspect continued apologizing to Parry and telling her he was not going to hurt her. She said she told him she would be unable to identify him and promised not to tell anyone what happened if he would just let her go.

Her fear mounted as the car continued west on Mesquite Boulevard toward the onramp of Interstate 15, knowing that any escape would be much more dangerous at highway speeds.

“I knew if he got on the interstate he would kill me,” she said.

She said she sat close to the door, which still was slightly ajar, in the event she would need to jump out, and then proceeded to tell the suspect that she was a mother with children and reassured him that she would not call the police.

“I told him I would never tell anyone about what happened, and that I didn’t even know who he was,” Parry added.

Instead of continuing toward the interstate, the suspect pulled the vehicle over near the Casa Blanca casino and let her go, telling her “not to flag anyone down,” she said. Once he drove off and was out of sight, she ran toward the casino while calling 911. She then remained near the front entrance of the casino while waiting for officers to arrive, she said, in case the suspect returned and she needed to hide.

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When officers arrived, Parry provided her account of what happened in the store. She said the events were difficult to process as the stress and terror associated with the experience hit her all at once. She was also afraid the man might return and hurt her.

Shortly thereafter, she said she was transported to the hospital where she was given medication to calm her anxiety and to bring down her heart rate and blood pressure.

While officers in Mesquite gathered all available security footage pertaining to the incident, emergency dispatch received a call involving an unrelated vehicle theft. Upon arriving at the scene of the theft, authorities say they discovered that the footage from the theft and the video captured during the robbery showed the same suspect, who also happened to be staying at the hotel from where the vehicle was reportedly stolen.

When officers matched the suspect’s vehicle to the car seen in the robbery footage, they encountered the suspect, identified then as Kynes, leaving the hotel the following afternoon. Following a short foot pursuit, he was placed under arrest and now faces first-degree felony kidnapping, along with second-degree felony robbery with use of a deadly weapon. He also was charged with one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer.

An accomplice, identified as David Eugene Jordan Jr., 32, of Mesquite, was one of four other individuals also arrested by officers and he has been charged with three felony charges, including one count each of conspiracy to commit robbery with a deadly weapon, grand larceny of a motor vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Mesquite Police Sgt. Wyatt Oliver said Parry’s actions and decisions she made during the incident are what likely saved her life, thanks to her ability to think quickly and remain calm under such extreme stress.

He also said she negotiated with the suspect in such a way that she brought the human element into the situation, a tactic that can disrupt a suspect’s thought process, allow them to see the victim as a human being and make it more difficult to do them harm.

What she did was perfect,” Oliver said. “And she continued those efforts the entire time, and never gave up, which ultimately led to her being released.”

In the days that followed, Parry said she was terrified to be alone and spent three days at a Las Vegas family member’s home surrounded by high fencing, adding the level of constant fear is diminishing each day.

Parry said she is continuing to address her fears and is feeling stronger and further made the distinction that she is not a victim – but a survivor. It has been through telling her story she said she has found healing and is grateful for the split-second decisions she made during the roughly 15 minutes she was with the suspect.

She also wanted to let others who have gone through similar trauma know there is no embarrassment in being afraid.

It has been the support of her family that has helped her through the experience, she said, including her husband, Timothy Parry, who told St. George News that his wife demonstrated a great deal of courage that night.

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While serving in the military he also went through similar traumatic experiences, including combat situations, he added, but even in those situations he was armed with military-grade weaponry and ammunition.

His wife, on the other hand, was “out there dealing with this guy alone, and she had nothing to work with other than her mind and her negotiating skills,” which served her well and are likely the reason she is still here, he said.

For Brandy Parry, getting back to work will be a significant step in the healing process, she said, and also serve as a reminder that she is not defined by what happened that night or by the suspect’s actions. Instead, she said, she has control over her own destiny and is excited to serve as the store manager.

She is still waiting to hear back from her employer as to when she will return to work, and until then, she is continuing in the healing process.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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