A federal jury convicted two Kansas men of kidnapping, drug, and gun charges in connection with the 2019 torture of a victim in Kansas City, Kansas.
According to court documents, 36-year-old David Carr, of Kansas City, and 46-year-old James Michael Poterbin, of Edwardsville, supplied meth in the Kansas City metro area. In April 2019, Carr and Poterbin kidnapped the boyfriend of a woman whom they mistakenly believed had stolen drug money from them.
The men reportedly bound the victim with zip-ties, duct-taped a shirt to his head, pistol-whipped him multiple times, smashed his fingers, beat him with a blunt object, shot him in the legs, and forced a co-conspirator to stab him in the leg. They then wrapped him in plastic and left him alone in the house. During the torture, Carr and Poterbin used the victim’s phone to contact his girlfriend and demand money in exchange for his release.
A few days after the victim was released, Carr ordered a co-conspirator to burn the house to the ground, which he did.
A jury found Carr and Poterbin guilty of kidnapping, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and discharging a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime.
Sentencing hearings are scheduled for Carr and Poterbin on May 1st. They each face a maximum of penalty of life imprisonment.
The FBI and the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department investigated the case while the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department investigated the arson.
