A federal jury in Brooklyn convicted two Brooklyn men, Michael Crumble and Ramell Markus, for kidnapping, extortion, and torture of a victim in 2017.
Crumble was sentenced to nine years in prison for kidnapping conspiracy, kidnapping, and committing physical violence in furtherance of an extortion. Markus was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the same crimes.
The defendants were convicted by a federal jury in May 2018 following a one-week trial.
The crimes occurred on December 17, 2017, when Crumble, Markus, and a co-conspirator kidnapped the victim outside his residence in Queens and forced him into a vehicle.
Markus pistol-whipped the victim in a futile attempt to force him to give up narcotics believed to be in the victim’s home.
The defendants and their co-conspirator then drove the victim to another location in Brooklyn, and during the next several hours tortured him – smashing a glass into his face and burning his arms with a hot iron – until the drugs and cash were given to them.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Keith D. Edelman and Lindsay K. Gerdes are in charge of the prosecution.
The defendants’ sentences were announced by Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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