Four individuals have been charged with the kidnapping of the owner of a marijuana dispensary in California, torturing him using a blowtorch and then severing his penis. They believed the man had been burying cash in the California desert, said authorities.
On Friday in the city of Fresno, police arrested Ryan Kevorkian and Naomi Kevorkian just a day after FBI agents had arrested Hossein Nayeri in Prague.
Nayeri was to face proceedings for extradition, while Kyle Shirakawa Handley was arrested last year in October.
The four are in jail without bail and if found guilty of the charges could face life behind bars with no parole.
Handley put in a plea of not guilty last month to all charges. His lawyer said he would make it obvious to the court that his client was not a part of the demonic criminal group.
Prosecutors said the marijuana dispensary owner had taken his suppliers including Handley on a trip to Las Vegas in 2012.
Following the trip, Handley is said to have told his friends that the owner of the dispensary was very wealthy and they came up with the idea of kidnapping and robbing him.
A month prior to the kidnapping, the robbers started shadowing the owner of the dispensary. They followed him on several occasions on trips he took to the desert near Palm Springs.
He was out there discussing the possibility of an investment deal, but the group believed he was out their burying cash in the desert.
In early October, the four are alleged to have gone to the man’s home in Newport Beach, stole cash, tied him up, beat him and then kidnapped him along with the roommate of his girlfriend.
While on the way to the desert, they allegedly burned him using a blowtorch.
When the men reached the spot, they believed where the man had buried the money, they severed his penis, covered him in bleach attempting to destroy DNA evidence and then dumped him along with the woman in the desert. Authorities claim the men left with the man’s penis so it would not be able to be reattached.
