Kidnapping Torture Trial Begins For Recaptured OC Inmate

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Opening statements were scheduled Thursday in the trial of Kyle Shirakawa Handley. Handley was one of three men charged in connection with the abduction and maiming of a marijuana dispensary owner and a woman from Newport Beach. He also

Then 33-years-old, Fountain Valley resident Handley is accused of helping to kidnap the pair from a Newport home and drive them out to the desert. One of the victims was brutally beaten in an effort to get his money, Newport Beach Police Lt. Jon Lewis said.ll four defendants are charged with two felony counts of kidnapping for ransom and one felony count each of aggravated mayhem, torture, and first degree residential burglary, with a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury, according to the D.A.'s office.

Prosecutors said the marijuana dispensary owner was targeted by the defendants because they allegedly thought he was burying large amounts of money in the desert. Before he was attacked, authorities said the victim took marijuana growers, including Handley, to Las Vegas for an "extravagant and expensive" weekend.

Handley is accused of telling his friends Nayeri and Ryan Kevorkian about the victim's wealth, and devised a plan to kidnap and rob him. The defendants watched the victim for four weeks through video surveillance and followed him on frequent trips he made to the desert.

Prosecutors also said the victim regularly drove to the desert to discuss an investment deal, but the defendants allegedly thought the victim made the desert trips to bury cash.

Newport Beach police found the surveillance videos about a week before the kidnapping, when Nayeri allegedly led police on a high-speed chase during a routine traffic violation, prosecutors said. Nayeri fled on foot and escaped police at that time.

Handley, Nayeri and Ryan Kevorkian are accused of breaking into the victim's home on 25th Street and zip-tying, torturing and beating him. The trio is also accused of zip-tying the girlfriend of the victim's roommate, and kidnapping both of them in a van.Before fleeing, prosecutors said Handley, Nayeri and Ryan Kevorkian stole a large amount of money from the home.

On the way to the desert area where the defendants thought the victim was burying money, the three allegedly burned the victim with a blow torch, cut off his penis and poured bleach on him in an effort to destroy any DNA evidence, authorities reported.

Both victims were dumped on the side of the road. The female victim was not physically harmed. She ran over a mile to a main road in the dark, still bound with zip ties, and flagged down a police car.

Prosecutors said Handley, Nayeri, and Ryan Kevorkian took the victim's penis with them so that it could never be reattached. Naomi Kevorkian is accused of participating in the plan to kidnap and torture the victims, according to prosecutors.

The defendants are being held without bail. If convicted each faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said.

Related:

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