Brooklyn Kidnapper Convicted Of Killing Menachem Stark, DA Says

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK -- The Crown Heights kidnapper who sat on and suffocated Williamsburg landlord Menachem Stark, whom he intended to hold for ransom, has been convicted of murder, prosecutors said.

Jurors found Erskine Felix, 40, guilty of murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence in Brooklyn Criminal Court Monday, after a three-week trial, according to the District Attorney's office.

Felix, his brother and cousin pounced on the millionaire landlord on a Williamsburg street and forced him into the back of their minivan during a blizzard on January 2, 2014, prosecutors said.

Felix, who worked as a contractor for Stark, taped his mouth shut, placed a ski mask over his head and sat on his chest as the Dodge Caravan sped through Williamsburg, said prosecutors.

Stark, a 39-year-old father-of-seven, was suffocated, then thrown in a Long Island dumpster and set on fire, prosecutors said.

Erskine’s brother Kendall Felix and cousin Irvine Henry have both pleaded guilty to lesser charges in connection with the botched kidnapping, court records show.

Felix could face a life in prison when he is sentenced in Brooklyn Criminal Court on May 1, prosecutors said.

"This was a cold-blooded kidnapping that resulted in the death of a businessman and member of the Williamsburg community," said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

"This verdict holds the defendant accountable for his role in this tragic and senseless death.”

Felix’s attorney, Mark Pollard, told the New York Post they would appeal the ruling.