DETROIT (WWJ) – Six people from Detroit are facing charges for allegedly kidnapping and beating someone they misidentified as the suspect in a carjacking.
U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison's office says six people were charged in the retaliatory kidnapping plot on Oct. 12 and four were arrested Thursday on charges of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
The charges stem from a November 2021 incident when they allegedly kidnapped and beat a person who they wrongly believed participated in a carjacking.
One of the carjacking victims, 21-year-old Cortez Blake, allegedly participated in the kidnapping conspiracy, according to Ison's office.
Others charged in the case include 21-year-old Karamoh Turner, 20-year-old Semaj Ayers, 22-year-old Maijah Greene, 19-year-old Shatonnia Kimbrough and 20-year-old Armond Williams.
Authorities say the defendants kidnapped and beat a person on Nov. 14, 2021 as part of "an organized effort to extract information about a carjacking the conspirators wrongly believed the person took part in." The alleged kidnapping lasted into the next day, according to Ison's office.
Officials have not released any information about the apparent carjacking Cortez was involved in.
The condition of the kidnapping and beating victim is not known.
Four of the people indicted in the case were expected to make an appearance in federal court Thursday.
If convicted, they each face up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release.
"The coordinated effort to victimize and seek retaliation in this case is stunning," Ison said, per a press release. "This is a clear example of what we see too often: violence causing more violence, and it has to stop. Today's arrests should send a clear message to those thinking about carrying out street justice – it will not be tolerated."
