Jury Convicts Man Who Held East Bay Family Hostage In Home Invasion

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — A Contra Costa County jury found a 34-year-old man guilty Thursday of multiple felony charges related to a home invasion incident involving a Lafayette family of four.

Kenneth McIsaac faces a potential life sentence in connection with the home invasion that took place Sept. 24, 2022, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office said Friday.

According to prosecutors, on the day of the home invasion, as a woman and her children returned home from the community pool in their apartment complex, McIsaac, a resident at the same complex, followed them into their unit. He shut the door and announced he was there to rob them while lifting his shirt to reveal what appeared to be a gun but was later determined to be a replica.

The woman called for her husband, who entered the living room and was forced by McIsaac to sit on the floor along with his wife and children. Prosecutors said McIsaac retrieved kitchen knives and handed the mother duct tape to bind her husband and children. McIsaac then bound the woman with tape and held the family captive for over five hours, threatening the children that he would kill their parents in front of them.

The husband used will and determination to free himself from the bindings, and when McIsaac returned to the living room, he fought back —ultimately subduing the intruder long enough for the rest of the family to escape and seek help.

Despite objections from the District Attorney's Office, McIsaac was referred in August 2023 to Mental Health Court for diversion. He was accepted and released to a treatment facility—but fled last October and went on the lam.

He was apprehended Nov. 14 by law enforcement and remained in custody awaiting his trial.

On Thursday, jurors convicted McIsaac of multiple felony charges in connection with the 2022 home invasion:

• Two counts of kidnap to commit robbery
• Two counts of kidnapping for ransom
• Multiple counts of first-degree residential robbery
• Felony child abuse
• False imprisonment
• Criminal threats

Jurors also upheld sentence enhancements for the use of a deadly weapon in 12 of the 13 charges.

McIsaac will learn his fate during sentencing set for June 6 by Judge Mary Ann O’Malley in Martinez.

"This verdict holds Kenneth McIsaac accountable for the harm he caused this family," District Attorney Diana Becton said. "His conviction sends a strong message that violent crimes of this nature will not be tolerated in Contra Costa County."

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