Conifer Uncle Pleads Guilty To Locking Nephew In Metal Container

GOLDEN, CO – An uncle accused of beating his nephew and locking him in a metal storage container for several hours pleaded guilty in Jefferson County Court.

Wynn Ray Sichting, 60, filed guilty pleas Aug. 31 to second-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping and theft, the First Judicial District Attorney said.

According to prosecutors, Sichting's nephew had been living with him for almost a year and had moved out. He told police he returned to his uncle's home in the 37400 block of Parsons Road outside Conifer around 3 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2017 to pick up some of his belongings.

The young man was standing just inside a large metal storage container when Sichting began to yell at him, accusing him of stealing $1,000, a police affidavit said. Sichting then began punching, kicking him and hitting him with a chair leg, then shoved him into the back of the container and locked him in. Over a period of hours, Sichting and two of his friends would open the door to the container and rip at his clothes until he was wearing only a pair of boxer shorts, the police affidavit said.

The young man told police his uncle held a knife to his face and broke a mirror over his body, covering him with broken glass. He told police his uncle kicked him in the head and told him he would be "in the ground" while he lay curled up. Then he was locked in the storage container again.

"That's what people like you get," Sichting allegedly told his nephew.

At one point around 9 p.m., the door to the storage container opened and the nephew saw that the friend of his uncle was standing at the door. The friend, a renter at his uncle's house, was disabled and walked with a cane, the young man told police. He said he pushed past his uncle's friend and fled wearing only his underwear and carrying a blanket. He ran to a neighbor's house in the dark and asked to call police, the affidavit said.

He was taken to St. Anthony's Hospital in Lakewood to be treated for multiple cuts and bruises, the police report said.

Sichting is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing on Oct. 11. He could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison, the DA's office said.

Image: Wynn Ray Sichting via JeffersonCounty District Attorney's Office

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