A Kentucky man who was sentenced to 14 years in prison last year but was put back on the street five months after his sentencing has been arrested after a Louisville woman and her children were kidnapped at knifepoint.
Armond Langford. 32, was arrested Friday after a six-hour manhunt, according to WHAS-TV.
Before his arrest, a woman and her two children were kidnapped. The woman said she was forced to drive to a bank as Langford demanded $20,000.
“He opened our back door and told them to get in the car…. They got in the car. They drove to the bank. He held a knife at her the whole time, he was telling her to drive faster,” Brandon Strong, husband and father of the victims, told the TV station.
UNREAL: In 2024, Armond Langford was sentenced to 14 years for robbing 22 people at ATMs
He was then RELEASED from prison by Democrat-appointed Judge Jessica Green after serving ONLY 6 months.
A few days ago, Langford allegedly kidnapped two kids and their mother, whom he also… pic.twitter.com/SnEyFNjDHC
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 11, 2025
He said his wife was stabbed during the ordeal and was treated for a non-life-threatening stab wound.
Langford had been sentenced to 14 years in prison in February 2024 after being convicted on charges of robbing multiple people who were withdrawing cash from ATMs from August 2021 to November 2021.
However, in July 2024, Judge Jessica Green granted a request for what’s called “shock probation,” in which the surprise of being set free is allegedly what keeps a criminal from reoffending.
Green was named to the bench in 2022 by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
Louisville council member Anthony Piagentini vented his anger.
“He was sentenced to 14 years in prison for multiple violent armed robberies and then was granted shock probation by a judge. I will find out who that judge was and seek to impeach them. They are responsible for this man terrorizing this family and our community,” he posted on X.
He was sentenced to 14 years in prison for multiple violent armed robberies and then was granted shock probation by a judge. I will find out who that judge was and seek to impeach them. They are responsible for this man terrorizing this family and our community. https://t.co/yPS46E6dB7
— Councilman Anthony Piagentini (@CMPiagentini) August 9, 2025
Karl Price, a former prosecutor and a defense attorney, said that Green’s order had multiple restrictions on Langford, according to WHAS.
“Obviously the judge felt extremely concerned that she needed to put some protections in place,” Price said.
Langford was ordered to stay at his mother’s house and obey her “house rules,” seek outpatient treatment, and be drug tested at random.
The order called for Langford to be put on a “high level of probation supervision.”
“The discretion of Probation and Parole is basically unfettered in these circumstances,” Price said. “When Probation and Parole has that type of authority, that is about as air-tight as you can make it when giving someone a chance.”
Price says he has doubts that there were no signals of what was brewing.
“If I had a crystal ball, I could probably see it in my crystal ball. Somewhere between the judge’s order and today, someone dropped the ball,” Price said.
Langford is charged with first-degree robbery, kidnapping-adult, kidnapping-minor, and first-degree assault, according to WLKY-TV.
“An arrest slip says Langford held the knife to the woman’s throat as she drove to the bank,” the news outlet reported.
“Langford got an unknown amount of money, then ran away from the scene.”
Police blocked off a nearby neighborhood, and later arrested Langford under an overpass.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
