KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two Kansas men were sentenced July 6 for kidnapping and torturing another man in 2019, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas announced Friday.
David Carr, 36, of Kansas City, Kansas, and James Michael Poterbin, 47, of Edwardsville, were convicted during a February 2023 jury trial of kidnapping, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and discharging a weapon in connection with a drug-trafficking crime.
Carr, who received a life sentence, and Poterbin, who received a 40-year sentence, held the victim — identified only as a man from KCK — against his will before shooting, stabbing and beating him then leaving him for dead.
At trial, prosecutors said the two men mistakenly believed that the man's girlfriend had stolen drug money from them and demanded payment for his release, according to court documents.
Carr and Poterbin believed the victim was dead and left him inside a home for days before he was discovered and rescued.
Carr later "ordered a co-conspirator to burn the house to the ground" where the torture occurred, presumably in attempt to destroy the crime scene.
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