3 arrested in torture, kidnap of marijuana dispensary owner

2013-11-08 17:08:09

NEWPORT BEACH – Three people suspected of kidnapping and torturing the owner of a marijuana dispensary and dumping him in the desert were arrested, including one person who had fled to Iran, authorities said.

Newport Beach detectives Friday arrested Ryan Kevorkian, 34, and Naomi Kevorkian, 33, in Fresno, a day after FBI agents arrested Hossein Nayeri, 34, in the Czech Republic. They, along with Kyle Handley, 34, who was arrested in October 2012, are facing felony charges of kidnapping, aggravated mayhem and torture.

Handley’s lawyer could not be reached Friday afternoon. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, court records show. It was not clear whether the other three defendants yet have lawyers.

Authorities allege the Kevorkians, Nayeri and Handley targeted the owner of a marijuana dispensary they believed had buried large amounts of cash in the desert. Authorities did not release the owner’s name, but court records previously indicated that he was a principal in a Santa Ana-based dispensary.

Prosecutors say sometime before October 2012, the owner of the dispensary took Handley and other marijuana growers to an “extravagant and expensive” weekend in Las Vegas. After returning from the trip, authorities say, Handley told Nayeri and Ryan Kevorkian that the dispensary owner was “extremely wealthy,” leading them to devise a plan to kidnap and rob him.

They began conducting video surveillance on the dispensary owner, prosecutors allege, following him as he made frequent trips from his home to the desert on the way to Palm Springs. Authorities say the owner was driving to the desert to “discuss a possible investment deal,” but that Handley, Nayeri and Kevorkian wrongly believed he was actually burying money.

A week prior to the suspected kidnapping, Nayeri led police on a high-speed chase after committing a routine traffic violation, prosecutors said. Police believe he crashed the car and ran away, escaping but leaving behind surveillance equipment and videos which were recovered by officers.

Authorities allege that on Oct. 2, 2012, Handley, Nayeri and Ryan Kevorkian broke into the dispensary owner’s Newport Beach home, zip-tied the man, “severely beat” him and put him in a van. Prosecutors say the three also tied up and kidnapped the owner’s girlfriend and stole “a large amount of cash” from his home.

While driving to the desert, prosecutors say, the three men burned the dispensary owner with a blowtorch and cut off his penis, pouring bleach on the man before dumping him and his girlfriend on the side of the road in an attempt to destroy DNA evidence. The girlfriend, apparently still bound, ran a mile to a main road where she flagged down a police car.

Authorities allege the three men took the dispensary owner’s penis with them “so that it could never be re-attached.” They say the owner spent an “extensive time in the hospital recovering from his injuries.”

When Newport Beach police investigators began to canvass the neighborhood where the kidnapping occurred, they found a witness who had taken down the license number of a “suspicious” car that had been parked in the area. The detectives learned that Handley had been the registered owner of the vehicle.

Evidence found at Handley’s home linked him to the kidnapping and torture, prosecutors said, and DNA found on the evidence led police to Nayeri. They also found the DNA of two other individuals who they were initially unable to identify, authorities said.

Prosecutors did not outline what evidence was found. However, a previously released search warrant affidavit indicated that towels with possible bleach stains, a zip tie and “panda paper” similar to what the owner described as being in the vehicle he was taken to the desert in were found at Handley’s home. Panda paper is a reflective material used to direct more light onto marijuana plants.

After identifying Nayeri, detectives went back to the video surveillance equipment and footage they had found in his vehicle after the pursuit prior to the kidnapping.

Prosecutors say Nayeri fled to Iran, but was arrested by the FBI on Thursday at an airport in Prague while transferring flights to Spain, where he was reportedly planning to visit family.

After an “extensive investigation,” prosecutors said, Newport Beach detectives used the initially unidentified DNA “profiles” found at Handley’s home to tie Ryan and Naomi Kevorkian to the kidnapping and torture.

Authorities allege Naomi Kevorkian “participated in the plan to kidnap and torture” the dispensary owner, though she was not present for the attack.

Ryan and Naomi Kevorkian are scheduled Tuesday to appear in court for an arraignment. Prosecutors say Nayeri will face extradition hearings in the Czech Republic, which have not yet been scheduled.

Handley will return to court Nov. 15 for a preliminary hearing.

All four are being held without bail. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of life in state prison without parole.

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