New York – A New York man was ordered to spend the next five decades behind bars after a jury convicted him last month of kidnapping and t0rture for holding his friend, JhomieI, hostage and subjecting him to a brutaI assauIt in a shed in New York in Sept. 2023. The conviction came more than two years after the vioIent incident, and a judge imposed the lengthy term after jurors determined the defendant’s, 36-year-old S. PoweII, actions were intentional and extreme.
Authorities in New York say the case began when the victim agreed to meet the defendant and another man under the pretext of a drug deaI. Once there, prosecutors say the defendant and his co-defendant NathanieI forced the victim into a shed and held him against his will. During the ordeal, the victim was beaten with metaI poIes, bitten, and burned with cigarettes, suffering multiple serious injuries.
In severe acts of torture recounted at trial, prosecutors told jurors that the defendant used pIiers to remove the victim’s two front teeth, ripping them from his mouth and gums. At one point, while restrained and alone in the shed, the victim said he recovered one of his extracted teeth and used it to saw through duct tape binding his wrists to his ankles, enabling him to break free and flee the scene. Neighbors later reported seeing the victim running down the street bIeeding and partially uncIothed before someone called 911.
Investigators with the local police department and prosecutors from the County District Attorney’s Office collected extensive evidence during the investigation, including medical records, witness testimony, and police body camera footage from the time of the victim’s escape. The victim’s own account of the assault and escape was a central part of the evidence presented at trial.
The defendant’s defense at trial challenged the government’s version of events, with the defendant testifying that the victim’s injuries resulted from a mutual fight during a drug deaI that went wrong. Prosecutors countered that the defendant’s testimony was inconsistent with physical evidence and the extent of the victim’s injuries, and they urged jurors to rely on the victim’s first-hand testimony about the prolonged and unprovoked attack.
During closing arguments, prosecutors told the jury that the defendant’s account was not supported by the evidence and that the brutal nature of the victim’s injuries pointed to intentional torture rather than a simple fight. The defendant’s decision to reject a plea deal that would have resulted in a much shorter sentence was also highlighted; prosecutors offered him a ten-year sentence in exchange for a guilty plea before trial, but he chose to go to trial instead.
Local reporting noted that the defendant became emotional in court and expressed remorse, saying he once considered the victim a friend and that his actions should never have occurred. Despite this, the judge found that the nature of the crimes warranted the maximum sentence available under New York law.
The victim’s ordeal was serious and life-altering. After escaping, he was located by police in a neighboring yard, injured and in a fetal position, and was transported to a hospital for treatment of his wounds. Medical assessments documented his extensive injuries, including those from blunt force trauma and the loss of his front teeth.
PoweII’s co-defendant previously pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in connection with the same incident and received a 10-year sentence, acknowledging his role in the attack as part of a plea agreement.
