KANSAS CITY, KAN. A federal jury has convicted two Kansas men of kidnapping, drugs and firearms in connection with the torture of a victim in 2019 in Kansas City, Kansas.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, David Carr, 36, of Kansas City, and James Michael Poterbin, 46, of Edwardsville, supplied methamphetamine sold in the Kansas City metro area. In April 2019, Carr and Poterbin kidnapped the boyfriend of a woman they mistakenly believed stole their drug money.
Carr and Poterbin tied the victim with zip ties and taped a shirt to his head with duct tape, pistol whipped him several times, broke his fingers and beat him with a blunt object, shot him in the legs and forced an accomplice to stab him in the leg. Then they wrapped him in plastic and left him alone in the house. During the torture, Carr and Poterbin used the victim’s phone to contact his girlfriend and ask for money in exchange for her release.
A few days after the victim’s release, Carr ordered a conspirator to raze the house, which he did.
A jury found Carr and Poterbin guilty of kidnapping, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and discharge of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime.
Sentencing hearings are scheduled for Carr and Poterbin on May 1, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively, before US District Judge Julie A. Robinson. Each of them risks life imprisonment at most.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department investigated the case. The Kansas City, Kansas City Fire Department investigated the arson and provided invaluable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan J. Huschka and D. Christopher Oakley are pursuing the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Catania presented the indictment to a grand jury and prepared the case for trial.
Cases of the OCDETF strike force
This prosecution is part of an initiative by the Armed Forces Counter-Drugs Organized Crime Strike Force (OCDETF), which involves establishing permanent multi-agency special forces teams working side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model allows agents from different agencies to collaborate in intelligence-driven multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle top drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations. The mission of the Kansas City Metro Strike Force also includes targeting violent street gangs and cartel members operating in and around the metro area who are involved in violent crime and firearms offences.
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