A family vlogger and online rapper whose YouTube channel amassed over 1 million subscribers is accused of briefly kidnapping a woman in Texas before then relocating outside the U.S.
Corey Pritchett Jr., 26, was charged on Dec. 26 with one count of aggravated kidnapping. He is accused of taking the woman on a high-speed car ride with a second woman and threatening both of their lives, according to a criminal complaint obtained by HuffPost.
Pritchett on Friday addressed the allegations in a message to his over 600,000 followers on Instagram, writing, “Don’t worry lol I’m finna give the Details on here & in the Court of Law.”
The incident underpinning the charge allegedly took place Nov. 23 in the Houston area, with the two women telling police that they planned to ride ATVs with Pritchett and go bowling that night, according to the complaint.
But after they arrived at the bowling alley, the women thought the rapper seemed to be acting suspicious, and they asked him to leave, which he did.
One of the women later messaged Pritchett to say they had left some items in his car, according to the complaint. Pritchett met with the women at a parking lot and offered to give them a ride home, to which they agreed.
During the drive, both women noticed Pritchett’s behavior was different from earlier in the day. Eventually Pritchett drove in the opposite direction of one woman’s apartment and ended up on the highway, the complaint said.
Pritchett was allegedly making phone calls to unknown people as he seemingly increased the vehicle’s speed to over 100 mph. The women said Pritchett pulled out a gold-colored handgun and waved it out of the vehicle’s sunroof.
One woman told Pritchett to take her back to her apartment. She attempted to calm him down by asking him to pray with them as he continued to drive at a high speed, according to the complaint.
At one point, Pritchett made a video call to an unknown person whose contact was saved in his phone as “Future Wife.” He asked her “if he had the perfect opportunity and was driving in the middle of nowhere and no one could hear them scream,” authorities wrote in the complaint. The person on the phone responded with a yes.
The women feared for their lives, believing they were going to be taken to a remote location to be killed, according to the complaint.
Pritchett took the women’s phones after noticing that they had been texting each other, the complaint said. Pritchett allegedly fired four to five shots out the window and pointed the firearm at the women around this time.
He then pulled over on the shoulder of the highway and ordered the women to get out the vehicle, the complaint said.
“This is your only opportunity,” they claimed Pritchett told them.
When he drove off, the two women flagged down a good Samaritan and called 911, prompting law enforcement to respond, according to the complaint. The woman stated that Pritchett had at one point told them “I’m gonna fuck yall and then kill yall.”
One of the women had screenshots from a location-sharing app that police said corroborated their statements, including claims about the high speed of Pritchett’s vehicle. Authorities were unable to make contact with Pritchett, but said he indicated on social media that he was leaving the U.S. to “start a new life in Dubai.”
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Pritchett flew to Qatar on a one-way ticket Dec. 9, the complaint said. According to NBC affiliate KPRC, authorities are trying to bring him back to the U.S.
Pritchett had achieved fame on YouTube with lighthearted videos about relationships and family with his now ex-wife, Carmen Pritchett, according to KPRC. She has more than 5 million followers on Instagram.
The latest video on his family YouTube page was added over a year ago. He has recently seemed to focus more on his music career.