MIAMI, Florida — Three Miami men have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a kidnapping conspiracy that resulted in death. James Edward Daniels, 59, and Frederick Eugene Rudolph, 69, both of Miami, were sentenced to life in prison, while Herbert Barr, 56, also of Miami, received a 12-and-a-half-year sentence.
The sentences follow a trial where Daniels and Rudolph were found guilty on December 17, 2024, and Barr pleaded guilty to kidnapping on November 26, 2024. The charges stem from a December 5, 2020, incident in which the defendants and other co-conspirators kidnapped three victims from a truck yard in Opa-locka, Florida. The victims were bound, tortured, and had their eyes duct-taped before being thrown into a rented van after the defendants stole their drugs. The victims were driven around the city for hours before being taken to an abandoned house in Opa-locka, where the defendants attempted to execute them. Two victims died, while one survived.
Daniels also stole jewelry from one of the murdered victims, and all defendants received drugs, money, or both in exchange for their participation in the conspiracy, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The investigation was conducted by the FBI Miami Division Homestead Resident Agency, Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Homicide Bureau, and DEA Homestead Office, with prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Yara Dodin and Katie Guthrie…