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SALT LAKE CITY — Three people were charged Thursday in connection with a kidnapping and assault case that left one man nearly blind.
Keyshon Malik Felder, 21; Euziel Ezai Dela Torre, 20; and Juan Cruz Castruita-Lopez, 20, were each charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated assault, all first-degree felonies. They were also charged with aggravated assault, a second-degree felony.
Court documents indicate Lopez is from West Jordan, while the addresses of Felder and Torre are listed as "unknown."
On Jan. 20, two men were invited to a residence under the guise of attending a party, according to charging documents. But when they arrived, the three defendants accused them of stealing 27 pounds of marijuana and two AK-47 rifles, the charges state.
The victims were stripped of their clothes and tied to camping chairs. One man was beaten in the face "with the buttstock of an AR style .22-caliber rifle" and had "the barrel of the gun put in his mouth," the charges state. The defendants also poured motor oil over the man and threatened to light him on fire, according to court documents.
After the men were released, the man who was the most severely beaten had to have at least three surgeries to reattach the retina in his left eye, the charges state.
"As of July 26, 2018, (the man) is experiencing almost complete vision loss and/or blurred vision in his left eye," the charges state. "His vision is not expected to improve."
A $500,000 warrant was issued Thursday for all three men.
