The victims stood accused of disrupting the business.
At a Lithonia-area “stash house,” the two men “mismanaged” $900,000 worth of drugs, and were punished by three days of captivity and “savage” torture, according to newly-released police documents.
One victim’s head was allegedly held underwater in a bathtub to make him tell what happened to the product; the other was burned with a barbecue spatula heated in the fire place.
The captors hogtied the first man and hauled him away, telling the other prisoner he’d “never find his body.”
But both men survived the ordeal, police confirmed Friday.
The case came to authorities’ attention on Jan. 8, when the remaining victim managed to dial 911 from a home in Atlanta. The man, who told police he was in town from New York visiting his cousin, said he was taken to Nelms Drive in southwest Atlanta after being held on Creekford Lane near Lithonia High School.
On the way, the crew stopped at another Lithonia home, where a shootout reportedly ensued. No one was shot, and all fled.
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When officers arrived later at the Atlanta home, they found Wayne Jackson, 27, with the victim. Jackson claimed he passed out drunk at a party there the night before and didn’t know anything about the prisoner, according to an Atlanta police report.
The victim said Jackson was one of the crew who’d held him and his cousin captive while trying to find the missing drugs.
Jackson was charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment and remains in the Fulton County jail without bond.
David Jarrell Gause, 29, is accused of charges including kidnapping and aggravated battery with disfigurement. DeKalb jail records say he was released on $60,000 bond after two days.
A phone message left for Gause wasn’t immediately returned Thursday.
The victim rescued from Atlanta had third-degree burns from the spatula, which was used on his thighs, buttocks and arms, warrants say.
DeKalb police said the victim who was supposedly going to be murdered has been found and is “alive and well.”
The warrants say there were reportedly three main captors and “several others” who were involved in the crimes. Police haven’t revealed if any other suspects have been charged.
DeKalb police declined Thursday to release further information on the case, which is still under investigation.
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