Men sentenced for kidnapping, torturing and robbing Brooklyn victims

A trio of criminals will spend more than a decade in prison for kidnapping and robbing two men in Brooklyn in 2013 — one of which they tortured with a blowtorch and cigarettes, according to authorities.

Francisco Graham, 39, of Philadelphia; Clarence Davis, 40, of Virginia, and Abdul Lopez, 23 of Brooklyn, were sentenced Thursday to determinate terms of 13 years and 15 years in prison, respectively. The sentence comes following their guilty plea on Jan. 20 to first-degree robbery.

According to prosecutors, on Dec. 13, 2013 at about 5 p.m. the victims — Angelo Gonzalez and Jerry Tavarez —were walking along Greenpoint Avenue when they were ambushed by the trio.

The three men — who displayed firearms and police shields — identified themselves as Drug Enforcement Administration agents, handcuffed the victims and threw them into a van, authorities said.

The victims were then drive to a location in Queens, blindfolded and held in separate basement rooms, prosecutors said. Gonzalez had his pants and underwear remove and was then tortured with a blowtorch on his inner thighs and genitals.

Gonzalez also had lit cigarettes extinguished on his face, neck, and body as Christmas music played loudly in the background — drowning out any cry for help, authorities said.

The victim then told his kidnappers that he kept some cash at home and he gave them his home address and the alarm code to get in, prosecutors said. He also revealed information of a safety deposit box where he kept more money.

The men then drove to Gonzalez’s home in Williamsburg — taking the victim with them — and told Gonzalez to have his girlfriend deliver the deposit box key directly to their van.

During this time Gonzalez’s girlfriend alerted the police of his location by using the “Find My Phone application on his phone, according to authorities.

Detectives arrived and arrested the three men and the second victim was later released.

After a search of the location where the victims were being kept authorities discovered a fake badge and firearm. The basement floor was covers in tarps, and officers also found a blowtorch, cigarette butts and a hacksaw.

“Such depraved acts of violence — all done for money — were cruel and simply inhumane and led to the lengthy prison sentences that they each got,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson.