Men Kidnapped And Tortured Victim For Drugs And Cash, Feds Say

BROOKLYN, NY — Two men kidnapped and tortured another man for hours, burning his arm with a hot iron, to steal drugs and cash from him, federal prosecutors said.

Michael Crumble, 34, and Ramell Markus, 35, were hit with a five-count indictment on Tuesday after they kidnapped a Queens man for about eight hours in December and tortured him so he would hand over his property, authorities said.

“Not only did the subjects in this investigation allegedly rob their victim, but kidnapped and tortured him to extract information," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney said in a statement. "No human deserves to be beat, burned and pistol-whipped into submission."

During the eight hour ordeal, Markus, Crumble and an unapprehended suspect threatened to kill the victim, pistol-whipped him in the head, broke a glass on his face and repeatedly burned his arms with a hot iron to get information on a drug stash, federal prosecutors said.

The incident started on Dec. 17 when the victim was traveling back to Queens and Markus called him to meet. After the man got home, he met Markus outside shortly after midnight on Dec. 18 when Crumble and the other suspect pushed him into a Toyota 4Runner, according to court papers.

Once inside the car, the unnamed suspect held a gun to the victim's head while Markus threatened to shoot him the face. Markus then grabbed the gun and pistol-whipped the victim, federal prosecutors said.

The men drove the victim to a home in Brooklyn where Markus broke a glass on his face and the suspects burned his arm with the iron demanding he hand over any drugs and cash he had in his home and tell them the address where they believed more was stashed, according to court papers.

The victim called his fiancée who eventually turned over money and drugs to the suspects, but they later drove him to a Brooklyn hotel demanding an address for another stash.

They drove him back home after eight hours when he didn't give up the spot and forced him to give them a pound of marijuana as collateral, prosecutors said.

Crumble and Markus were arrested and hit with the indictment Tuesday for kidnapping, extortion and gun possession, authorities said.

Both suspects have long criminal records and spent time behind bars previously, court papers show. Markus was first convicted in 1999 for robbery and spent one year in prison for the charge.

He was later sentenced to an 18-month order of protection for grand larceny in 2006 and then two-and-a-half years in jail in Maine for drug trafficking, court papers show.

Markus' lawyer did not want to comment on the case for the article.

Crumble previously spend eight years behind bars after he was convicted of robbery in 2005 and has two open warrants upstate for robbery, assault and harassment, according to court papers.

His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lead image: Michael Crumble (left) and Ramell Markus (U.S. Attorney Eastern District of New York)