NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) – Four people were charged with kidnapping a California marijuana dispensary owner, torturing him with a blowtorch and cutting off his penis during a robbery because they thought he was burying piles of cash in the desert, authorities said Friday.
Ryan Anthony Kevorkian, 34, and Naomi Josette Kevorkian, 33, were arrested Friday in Fresno, a day after the FBI arrested 34-year-old Hossein Nayeri in Prague in the Czech Republic, Orange County authorities said in a statement.
Nayeri was expected to face extradition proceedings.
Another man, Kyle Shirakawa Handley, 34, was arrested in October of last year.
The four have been charged with kidnapping for ransom, aggravated mayhem, torture, burglary and a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury. They were being held without bail and could face up to life in prison without possibility of parole if convicted, prosecutors said.
It was not immediately known whether the Kevorkians and Nayeri had obtained lawyers.
Handley pleaded not guilty to the charges last month.
“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.
Read more: sacramento.cbslocal.com
