EPA Press Office:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, February 16, 2023

Jury Convicts Kansas Men for Violent Kidnapping in Wyandotte County

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A federal jury convicted two Kansas men of kidnapping, drug, and gun charges in connection with the 2019 torture of a victim 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 that was sold in the Kansas City metropolitan area.  In April 2019, Carr and Poterbin kidnapped the boyfriend of a woman whom they mistakenly believed had stolen drug money from them.  

Carr and Poterbin bound the victim with zip-ties and duct-taped a shirt to his head, pistol-whipped him multiple times, smashed his fingers and beat him with a blunt object, shot him in the legs, and forced a co-conspirator to stab him in the leg. They then 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 demand money in exchange for his release.  

A few days after the victim was released, Carr ordered a co-conspirator to burn the house to the ground, which he did.  

A jury found Carr and Poterbin guilty of kidnapping, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and discharging 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 U.S. District Judge Julie A. Robinson.  They each face a maximum of penalty of life imprisonment.  

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department investigated the case.  The Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department investigated the arson and has provided invaluable assistance.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan J. Huschka and D. Christopher Oakley are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Catania presented the indictment to a grand jury and prepared the case for trial.  

OCDETF Strike Force Cases

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The Kansas City Metro Strike Force’s mission also includes targeting violent street gangs and cartel members operating in and around the metropolitan area that are engaged in violent offenses and firearms offenses.

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