by
Cortez Blake
Two Detroit men were convicted this week in federal court of a 2021 kidnapping in retaliation against a woman they wrongly believed was involved in a carjacking.
Cortez Blake, 23, and Nasir Lewis, 24, were accused of kidnapping and beating the woman with an illegal gun as punishment and to extract information from her, according to a press release from the Detroit U.S. Attorney's Office.
“Cortez Blake and Nasir Lewis represent the 'worst of the worst' offenders calling Detroit home," said James Deir, head of the Detroit ATF office, in a statement. "There is no excuse for what they did. They kidnapped and beat a citizen of Detroit with an illegal firearm. They are common-day thugs who put their gang membership and loyalty above everything else, including their humanity."
According to the testimony and court documents, a group of armed men took the victim from Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit under "the pretense of safely taking her home." Instead, they drove her to an empty lot in Detroit where the victim was beaten.
The kidnappers then took the victim to Blake's residence where she was held at gunpoint and beaten intermittently for hours, authorities said. Finally, the victim was abandoned miles away on the roadside.
Seven people were charged with conspiracy to kidnap and kidnapping. To date, five have been convicted.
Blake's attorney Jerry Sabbota tells the Detroit News he and his client are "disappointed that he was not acquitted of both charges. But as always, the battle has just begun and he will be exercising the appellate avenue for the kidnapping charge."
An attorney for Lewis was not immediately available for comment Wednesday, the News reported.
