Ryan Kevorkian, his wife Naomi Kevorkian, Hossein Nayeri and Kyle Handley have all been accused of torturing a California marijuana dispensary owner because they thought he was burying large amounts of cash in a desert, the Associated Press reported.
The four mistakenly kidnapped the dispensary owner and his roommate's girlfriend from his home in an effort to find out where he was allegedly hiding and burying cash, Reuters reported.
The Kevorkian's were arrested Friday in Fresno a day after the FBI arrested Nayeri, 34 in Prague as he was switching flights from Iran to Spain to visit family, Reuters reported. Kyle Handley, 34 was arrested in October of 2012.
If convicted, the four will be charged with kidnapping for ransom, aggravated mayhem, torture, burglary and a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury, a sentence of life with no hopes of parole, according to Reuters.
According to prosecutors, the victim is a wealthy medical marijuana dispensary owner. Last year he took some of his pot suppliers, which included Handley, on a luxurious trip to Las Vegas, Reuters reported.
Handley went home after the trip and told some friends, the other three who have been arrested, that the man was rich and came up with a plan to kidnap and rob him, according to the statement, Reuters reported.
When the four began following the dispensary owner to trips he was making to the desert outside Palm Springs, they believed he was stashing money, when in reality he was attending meetings, Reuters reported.
The kidnapping took place on Oct. 2, 2012, when the four showed up to the victims house in Newport Beach, stole cash and took his roommates girlfriend and him to the location outside Palm Springs.
According to the statement, the four tortured the victim with a blowtorch during the ride to the location and severed his penis in an effort to obtain the location of where the money was buried, Reuters reported.
When they arrived at the location and realized there was no cash to be had, they poured bleach on him to destroy DNA evidence and dumped him, along with the woman, on the side of the road, Reuters reported. The four abductors also took the severed penis with them so it could not be reattached.
After the men drove away, authorities say the woman "ran over a mile to a main road in the dark, while still bound with zip ties, and flagged down a police car," according to the statement, Reuters reported.
Handley was arrested after a neighbor took down the van's license plate, which was used in the kidnapping and was registered to Handley, according to Reuters. The statement said Handley had unspecified evidence of the crime in his home, and Nayeri was linked to the crime through DNA found on that evidence.
Nayeri fled to Iran after the crime, where he was arrested months later while travelling and will now face extradition proceedings, according to Reuters.
"It is my hope that by bringing to justice these three additional people it will become clear that Mr. Handley was not involved in this demonic criminal enterprise," Robert K. Weinberg, Handley's attorney, said Friday.
It's not been confirmed whether the other three involved have obtained lawyers, Reuters reported.
