When Daniel Nieves went to bed one night in December, he didn’t think someone would break-in, pistol-whip him, burn him with a clothing iron and waterboard him. Not many persons would expect 8-hours of torture when all they wanted was a good night’s sleep.
Now, two of the men, Rahel Markus and Michael Crumble face kidnapping and extortion. The third man, Tyrone Burch, has already confessed and pleaded guilty.
Nieves, a porter with a drug-dealing-side-hustle, told detectives that Markus, an old friend, was coming after his stash of drugs and cash.
He may have been right. Nieves was released after making arrangements to hand the trio the drugs and $11,500.
“Kidnapping, “says Arkady Bukh, a noted criminal defense attorney in New York to New York law, “is defined as the taking of a person against their will from one location to another — or confining that person to a controlled space.The most common forms are kidnappings for ransom or extortion.”
The state codes are spelled out in Statute Penal Code Section 135.20, et seq. (kidnapping, coercion, and related offenses
Statutory Definition of Abduction
A person abducts another person when he or she “restrains” that person with intent to prevent his or her liberation by either:
Secreting or holding the person in a place where he or she is not likely to be found, or
Using or threatening to use deadly physical force.
What it Means to “Restrain” To “restrain” a person means to “restrict a person’s movements intentionally and unlawfully in such manner as to interfere substantially with his liberty by moving him from one place to another, or by confining him either in the place where the restriction commences or in a place to which he has been moved, without consent and with knowledge that the restriction is unlawful.”
Defenses to Kidnapping Charges
- The defendant was a relative (a parent, ancestor, brother, sister, uncle or aunt) of the person abducted, and his or her sole purpose was to assume control of such person
- Lack of intent to prevent the abducted person’s liberation
- Consent of abducted person or his or her parent or legal guardian
- Infancy (for persons who commit kidnapping in the second degree who are less than 16 years old; and for persons who commit kidnapping in the first degree who are less than 14 years old)
- Mental disease or defect
The Takeaway
Kidnapping charges are extremely serious and can land you in prison for a long time if you’re convicted of the crime. For this reason, it’s a good idea to get in touch with a local criminal defense attorney if you’ve been charged under New York kidnapping laws.
