Second suspect is arrested in the kidnapping of a south Kansas City man

A second suspect in the violent and long-distance kidnapping of a Kansas City man on Jan. 22 was arrested Thursday in Kentucky.

De’zahn James Carey, 17, was charged in Jackson County with kidnapping, first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He was arrested in Radcliff, Ky., where he lives.

Carey and Robert C. Caldwell of Danville, Ky., allegedly assaulted the 67-year-old victim outside his south Kansas City home early in the morning and tried to withdraw money from banks with his bank card. According to court documents, the two beat the victim and drove with him across Missouri, where the victim managed to escape.

Caldwell was arrested Tuesday, also in Kentucky. According to court records, Caldwell identified Carey to authorities from a photograph.

Court records say an aunt of Caldwell identified him as her nephew and Carey as her cousin. She confirmed that the two men were the ones in surveillance photos using the victim’s bank card at ATMs and gas stations.

Prosecutors have requested that Carey be held on $500,000 bond.

Caldwell, 25, is charged in federal court with carjacking, using a firearm during a violent crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm. At 17, Carey is considered a juvenile in federal court, but not in Missouri.

“I appreciate all of the officers,” the victim said Thursday of the arrests. “Law enforcement has just been phenomenal. I’m glad they got both of them. I knew they would.”

The victim was attacked about 5:30 a.m. outside his home in the 12200 block of Prospect Avenue. Two men approached him at gunpoint and demanded money and the keys to his van. They pistol-whipped the victim and ordered him into the van.

They tried unsuccessfully to withdraw money at different ATMs using the victim’s bank card. Angry, the attackers told the victim they had an accomplice who had killed the victim’s wife.

After a dramatic and violent trip across Missouri on Interstate 70, the victim managed to escape his abductors about 1 p.m. in the St. Louis suburb of Jennings, Mo. The victim’s van later was found abandoned in Kentucky after a crash.

This story was originally published January 29, 2015 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Second suspect is arrested in the kidnapping of a south Kansas City man."