A LaGrange man accused of a kidnapping for ransom has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Brandon Laney, 22, was adjudicated guilty Friday for violating the terms of his probation on unrelated charges of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of marijuana. The district attorney’s office dropped charges of kidnapping for ransom and aggravated assault.

A co-defendant, Germichael Tremaine Foster, 27, of Roanoke, Ala., pleaded guilty on Feb. 11 and was sentenced to five years in prison on a reduced charge of false imprisonment. Foster is serving the time concurrently with a 25-year prison term he received in July in Heard County Superior Court for trafficking in cocaine.

Prosecutors said the two men went to a residence in the 100 block of Cox Street on March 12, 2008, and Laney forced the victim at gunpoint to get into the trunk of their 2006 Dodge Charger. The victim’s cousin got a phone call from Foster’s cell phone and a voice said, “We got your cousin. … If you want him back, you need to give us $20,000 and a block,” referring to a kilogram of powder cocaine.

The car slowed for a stop light at Roanoke and Whitaker roads, where the victim was able to free himself using the emergency trunk release. He went to the Shell Mart and got a ride back to LaGrange.

Foster was arrested later that day in Roanoke on a charge of driving under the influence of marijuana. Police determined that a cell phone in the car had been used to make the ransom demands.

Foster took a polygraph examination at the La-Grange Police Department and showed signs of deception when he answered “no” to the only two questions: “Did you drive that Charger on Wednesday, March 12th, with that man in the trunk?” and “Were you present when that man was forced into the trunk of that Charger?”

Laney was arrested two days later in Cleburne County, Ala., on numerous weapons and narcotics charges. The victim identified him in a photograph as the one who pointed a gun at him and forced him into the trunk.

In another case Monday, Malcolm Lee James, 43, of LaGrange was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and simple assault.

Charges of rape and kidnapping were dismissed in exchange for the plea.

Police said he went to a Gorham Street residence on Oct. 19, and assaulted and raped a woman.

Also Monday, Deandrea Tramaine Varner, 29, of LaGrange was sentenced to five years in prison, five years’ probation and restitution of $6,500 after he pleaded guilty to burglary and three counts of child molestation.

He broke into a residence on East Depot Street between 1 and 4 a.m. Feb. 16, 2008, and fondled two girls, ages 12 and 13, as they slept. He stole $300 and an estimated $6,200 worth of jewelry from the house.

Joel Martin can be reached at jmartin@ lagrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 235.