KC man known as 'Peckerwood' guilty of kidnapping, torturing victim in a basement

A Kansas City man pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in a conspiracy to kidnap and torture an Independence man.

Randal G. Holmes, also known as "Peckerwood," pleaded guilty to two kidnapping-related counts, one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 100 pounds of marijuana and one count of a firearm-related charge, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri.

Holmes, 53, pleaded guilty to kidnapping one of his accomplices in a drug trafficking operation between Colorado and Kansas City after suspecting the man stole a duffel bag full of cash, the Attorney's Office said.

Holmes and co-conspirators held the Independence man, identified only as C.H., at gunpoint in a basement, punched him and assaulted him with a hammer and tin clippers.

After C.H. told the men where to find the money, he was forced to call his father and tell him that he'd taken a beating, that he'd deserved it and that he would return home in a few days.

Law enforcement officers traced the call and responded to where the men were holding C.H. They arrested Holmes.

C.H. suffered a fractured hand, swelling and bruising of his face and officers noted he had trouble walking.

Holmes faces up to life in federal prison without parole.

This story was originally published July 10, 2018 at 6:10 PM.