Five men dressed as officers kidnapped and assaulted a man who they believe was a drug dealer during a home invasion.
One of the men, Mr. Torrez Seymore, 25, Baltimore, MD, was sentenced Thursday for possessing with the intent to distribute marijuana obtained by robbery and discharging a firearm in connection with that robbery.
“Homes being raided by criminals dressed in law enforcement gear, carrying guns and yelling police is extremely unsettling,” United States Attorney Mrs. Sally Quillian Yates said. “This case effectively dismantled this robbery crew.”
The following details were obtained from federal court records:
The incident happened on Jan. 14, 2010 when Mr. Seymore and four others dressed as police officers and carrying guns assaulted a suburban house on Hyland Drive in DeKalb County, prosecutors said.
He and his fellow robbers used a vehicle tracking device on the victim’s cars to find the location of the house. The crew thought that the residents were marijuana suppliers.
The robbers wore fake police badges and vests with the word “Police” printed on them. They also carried handcuffs and firearms.
As they pulled into the victim’s driveway, he came out of the house. The robbers yelled, “DeKalb County Police get down, cuff him!”
Their goal was to force the victim take them to a “stash” house where they believed additional drugs were stored.
While the robbers were in the middle of trying to kidnap the victim, a friend of the victim arrived and the robbers traded gunfire with him on the lawn. The robbers then beat and kidnapped the victim.
The victim took the crew to his girlfriend’s home, under the pretense that it was the “stash” house that the robbers sought to find. The victim’s girlfriend fled the home through the back door and called police, who came and rescued the victim.
Mr. Seymore was sentenced to 13 years, 10 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty Thursday.
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