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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — One of the two men accused of kidnapping and robbing a young couple in southern Jefferson County last year has been sentenced to 26 years in prison, according to the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Casey Daniel Cleveland, 33, was also sentenced to five years of parole for his role in the incident.

Cleveland and 34-year-old Jeremy Scott Hackbarth, were drinking at a bar near South Wadsworth Boulevard and West Chatfield Avenue on Sept. 16, 2017. According to the DA’s office, the pair befriended a young couple and left at the same time as them.

The men asked the couple for a ride, and the couple agreed. The men got into the back seat of the vehicle. As it was traveling southbound on Wadsworth, Cleveland pulled a knife and pressed it against the male driver’s neck. Hackbarth put his arm around the female passenger’s neck, choked her repeatedly and threatened to kill her.

Credit: First Judicial District Attorney’s Office

Cleveland and Hackbarth ordered the man to keep driving. Meanwhile, the woman jumped out of the car while it was going about 50 mph.

The DA’s office said Cleveland and Hackbarth then ordered the man to pull over into a neighborhood. They threatened to shoot him and told him to get out of the vehicle. The men then left in the vehicle, which was owned by the female victim.

The sheriff’s department contacted both victims. The woman was injured but survived her escape. Hackbarth and Cleveland were arrested hours later.

Hackbarth was found guilty of 10 felony counts for his role in the crime, including kidnapping, aggravated robbery, second-degree assault and motor vehicle theft. Cleveland pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated robbery on Aug. 29.

Hackbarth will be sentenced Dec. 6.