Cortez Blake, 23, and Nasir Lewis, 24, both from Detroit, were convicted of kidnapping and wrongly beating the victim they mistakenly believed was involved in a carjacking.
During the trial, the jury heard evidence that the men worked with others to kidnap and beat their victim.
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The kidnappers wrongly believed the victim had taken part in a carjacking, and the kidnapping was to retaliate and extract information from the victim.
According to the testimony, a group of armed men took the victim from Sinai-Grace Hospital.
They first drove the victim to an empty lot in Detroit, where the victim was beaten.
Then, kidnappers took the victim to a residence controlled by Blake, where the victim was held at gunpoint and beaten intermittently for hours before abandoning the victim miles away on the roadside.
Seven people were charged with conspiracy to kidnap and kidnapping from this incident.
Five people have been convicted with Tuesday’s (Aug. 13) verdicts. In addition to Blake and Lewis, Maijah Greene, 24, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap; Shatonnia Kimbrough, 21, pleaded guilty to kidnapping; and Armond Williams, 22, pleaded guilty to kidnapping.
The trial of a sixth individual, Semaj Ayers, remains pending. The final defendant, Karamoh Turner, was acquitted at trial.
Turner still faces aggravated identity theft charges and wire fraud in federal court.
Two additional people were convicted of the carjacking that precipitated the kidnapping.
Jamar Lee-Stinson pleaded guilty to carjacking and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and was sentenced to 141 months in prison in May 2024.
Amiaya Bryant also pleaded guilty to carjacking and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and was sentenced to 120 months in prison in June 2024.
All of the defendants remain in custody. Each of the defendants convicted of kidnapping or conspiracy to kidnap faces up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine, and not more than five years of supervised release.
