DETROIT (WWJ) — Two more Detroit men have been convicted on federal kidnapping charges in a case authorities say involved a mistaken identity.
After an eight-day trial, 23-year-old Cortez Blake and 24-year-old Nasir Lewis were convicted Monday by a federal jury. The convictions come nearly three years after Blake, Lewis and several others kidnapped and beat someone who they believed was responsible for carjacking Blake in November of 2021.
U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison on Tuesday said "so often, one terrible crime spins into a cycle of violence and retribution. And too often, those cycles end tragically—with death, injury, and incarceration."
ATF Special Agent in Charge James Deir said Blake and Lewis "represent the 'worst of the worst' offenders calling Detroit home," noting the case had gang ties.
"There is no excuse for what they did. They kidnapped and beat a citizen of Detroit with an illegal firearm," Deir said, per a press release. "They are common-day thugs who put their gang membership and loyalty above everything else, including their humanity."
Over the course of the trial, according to Ison's office, the jury heard evidence that Blake and Lewis worked with others to kidnap and beat their victim, who they wrongly believed took part in the carjacking.
Authorities say the kidnapping was "to retaliate and extract information from the victim."
A group of armed men took the victim from Sinai-Grace Hospital on Detroit's west side and first drove them to an empty lot in Detroit, where the victim was beaten. The kidnappers then took the victim to a home that was "controlled by Blake," according to Ison's office.
There, the victim was "held at gunpoint and beaten intermittently for hours." Eventually, the victim was abandoned miles away on the side of the road.
In total, seven people were charged with conspiracy to kidnap and kidnapping. After Monday's verdicts, five people have now been convicted. In addition to Blake and Lewis, 24-year-old Maijah Greene pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap while 21-year-old Shatonnia Kimbrough, and 22-year-old Arnold Wiliams pleaded guilty to kidnapping.
The trial of a sixth person related to the plot, 22-year-old Semaj Ayers, remains pending.
The final defendant, 23-year-old Karamoh Turner, was acquitted at trial. Turner still faces charges of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud in federal court.
Ison's office said two people have been convicted of the carjacking that precipitated the kidnapping. Jamar Lee-Stinson pleaded guilty to carjacking and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Back in May he was sentenced to 11 years and nine months in prison. Amiaya Bryant also pleaded guilty to carjacking and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. In June, Bryant was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
All of the defendants in the case remain in custody. Each of them face up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and no more than five years of supervised release, according to the attorney's office.
Authorities have not released any information about the victim who was beaten after being wrongly identified as the carjacking suspect.
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