PRE-ICO HUSTLE
By 2012, a dispensary owner in Newport Beach was running a profitable medical cannabis operation under California’s Prop 215 framework. This was the pre-ICO era, when dispensaries often operated in legal gray areas, dependent on cash transactions, and vulnerable to both law enforcement crackdowns and criminal targeting. The owner’s success became widely known, fueling envy, rumors, and ultimately, a plan to exploit his perceived wealth.
PLOTTED FOR MONTHS
Kyle Handley, a former supplier to the dispensary, became convinced that the owner had hidden $1 million in cash in the desert following a Las Vegas trip. Motivated by greed, Handley recruited Hossein Nayeri, Ryan Kevorkian, and Naomi Kevorkian. Over time, the group conducted surveillance on the dispensary owner, preparing for a violent and meticulously planned abduction.
DESERT NIGHTMARE (OCTOBER 2, 2012)
The plan unfolded on the night of October 2, 2012. The group broke into the owner’s Newport Beach home, where they subdued both him and a female friend. After zip-tying and assaulting them, the kidnappers forced the victims into a van and drove them more than 140 miles into the Mojave Desert. During the drive, they used a blowtorch on the man, demanding that he reveal the location of the supposed hidden fortune.
MUTILATION & ESCAPE
Once in the Mojave Desert, the attackers escalated the brutality. They severed the owner’s penis in a sadistic act of torture, then attempted to eliminate forensic evidence by dousing both victims in bleach. The perpetrators abandoned them in the desert, expecting them to die. Against all odds, the female victim managed to free herself from restraints and flag down help, which ultimately saved both their lives.
INTERNATIONAL MANHUNT
The investigation quickly gained national attention. Kyle Handley was arrested first, providing critical leads. Hossein Nayeri, however, fled to Iran, outside U.S. extradition reach. He was later captured in the Czech Republic during international travel and extradited back to the United States. By 2014, all four suspects were in custody, awaiting trial.
LIFE SENTENCES
**Justice was ultimately served with severe sentences:
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Kyle Handley – Life without parole (2018)
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Hossein Nayeri – Convicted in 2019, sentenced to life without parole in 2020
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Ryan Kevorkian – Pleaded guilty in 2019, sentenced to life without parole
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Naomi Kevorkian (now Naomi Rhodus) – Pleaded guilty in 2022 as an accessory, sentenced to three years probation**
HIGH-RISK ERA
This crime highlighted the inherent risks of the medical cannabis industry in its early, unregulated years. The reliance on large amounts of cash, combined with the lack of access to banking systems and standardized security, made dispensary owners prime targets for theft, extortion, and in this case, extreme violence. The Newport Beach case remains one of the most brutal examples of this vulnerability.
TRAGIC LEGACY
The dispensary owner survived, but the crime left scars—both physical and psychological. The case continues to stand as one of the most horrific cannabis-related crimes in U.S. history. For the attackers, what began as a greedy plot for imagined riches ended in permanent imprisonment. For the industry, it remains a cautionary reminder of the dangers that plagued California’s medical marijuana market before the reforms of legalization and banking protections.
— Nugg Notes
sources:
“OC Man Gets Life in Prison Without Parole in Kidnapping Case That Left Marijuana Dispensary Owner Mutilated.” ABC7 Los Angeles, 20 July 2018. https://abc7.com/kyle-handley-kidnapping-penis-severed-mutilation/3787546.
• “Former Fugitive Sentenced to Three Life Sentences for Kidnapping, Torture, and Mutilation.” Orange County District Attorney’s Office, 11 Dec. 2020. https://orangecountyda.org.
• “Drug Dealer Hossein Nayeri Sentenced to Life in Prison for Abduction and Mutilation of Newport Beach Marijuana Dispensary Owner.” ABC7 Los Angeles, 10 Jan. 2020. https://abc7.com/hossein-nayeri-life-sentence-newport-beach-crime/5836626.
• “Man Gets Life Sentence for Kidnapping, Torture, Mutilation.” Rafu Shimpo, 23 July 2018. https://rafu.com.
• “Man Sentenced in Kidnap-Torture of Pot Dispensary Owner.” AP News, 2 Dec. 2019. https://apnews.com/article/0d06c97f0f5f4f888f4c59590c95f70b.
• Littlejohn, Donna. “Final Defendant in Newport Beach Marijuana Dispensary Kidnapping Case Pleads Guilty.” Los Angeles Times / Daily Pilot, 25 Mar. 2022. https://latimes.com.
• “A Look into One of the Most Twisted Kidnappings in U.S. History.” ABC News, 17 Jan. 2024. https://abcnews.go.com.
• “Defendant Pleads Guilty in Kidnap-Torture Case That Rocked Newport Beach.” NBC Los Angeles, 25 Mar. 2022. https://nbclosangeles.com.
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