Naman Shrestha
In Hulu’s ‘Wicked Game: Devil in the Desert,’ the crimes of Hossein Nayeri are explored in a detailed manner, including the kidnapping and torture of a dispensary owner and his escape from prison with his two cellmates. For the kidnapping crime, he took the help of three of his long-term friends, including Naomi Rhodus and Ryan Kevorkian. However, as the investigators zeroed in on all the individuals involved in the crime, the two accomplices had no choice but to cooperate. Featuring in-depth interviews with people connected to the investigation, the three-part docuseries allows the audience to understand the case from different perspectives.
Naomi Rhodus and Ryan Kevorkian Were Involved in the Kidnapping Crime
Apart from being high school friends to Hossein Nayeri, Naomi Josette Rhodus and Ryan Anthony Kevorkian were also married to each other at some point. Naomi was the mother of two, and Hossein was their godfather. All three of them, and Kyle Handley, were involved in the plan to rob Hossein’s marijuana dispensary owner, Michael S., who they believed had $1 million buried somewhere in the Mojave Desert. While the men were devising the plan, Naomi rented a Ford Econoline through a friend and also arranged the weapons — a Glock 19 semi-automatic 9mm pistol and a 12-gauge, pistol-grip, pump-action shotgun — to be used in the crime. In the early hours of October 2, 2012, Hossein, Ryan, and Kyle Handley broke into Michael’s Newport Beach rented home with masks on and armed with the firearms arranged by Naomi.
They abducted the dispensary owner and the homeowner’s girlfriend, Mary Barnes, at gunpoint and forced them into their van. During the long drive toward the desert, Michael was tortured with different items while the masked men demanded he tell them about the buried $1 million. Claiming that he didn’t have that much money, the victim was ready to take them to his dispensary and give them $34,000. Upon reaching the middle of the Mojave Desert, one of the men, reportedly Hossein, cut off Michael’s genitalia with a kitchen knife when he did not tell them about the buried money. Leaving the two tied kidnapping victims to die in the desert, the trio of men drove away.
Soon enough, an investigation was launched to find the culprits behind the kidnapping and torture incident. They got the first break in the case through one of Michael’s neighbors, who had apparently noticed the suspicious van at the time of the abduction and jotted down the license plate number. The license plate number led the detectives straight to Kyle Handley. During a search of his Fountain Valley residence, they found a zip tie and other evidence that linked to Ryan Kevorkian and Naomi Rhodus, who were deemed potential suspects in the case. After more than a year of investigation, the former couple was arrested on November 8, 2013, in Fresno. Both of them were accused of having a hand in the kidnapping of Michael S. and Mary Barnes and the torture of the former.
Naomi Rhodus and Ryan Kevorkian Were Supposedly Released From Prison and Lead a Free and Stable Life Today
Facing the same charges, Naomi Rhodus and Ryan Kevorkian initially pleaded not guilty. However, they changed their minds later and decided to cooperate with the prosecutors. In May 2021, Ryan pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping and one count each of burglary and assault with a firearm. In his defense, his attorney claimed that Ryan wasn’t aware of the consequences he would face for kidnapping Michael and Mary from the Newport Beach property.
In exchange for his admission of guilt, the prosecutors dismissed other felony charges of aggravated mayhem, kidnapping for ransom, extortion to commit a sex crime, torture, and burglary with a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury. Due to his cooperation with the authorities and prosecution, he was only sentenced to 12 years and eight months in prison on May 26, 2021. He was also credited for the time he had already spent in county jail since being under arrest in 2013. Thus, after serving his remaining sentence at California State Prison – Corcoran, he became eligible for parole in 2023.
On the other hand, Naomi also pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. In return, her felony charges were dropped, and she was placed on three years of informal probation on March 23, 2022. Much like her former husband, she was also granted credit for a year and two weeks in custody. As of today, both Naomi Rhodus and Ryan California Kevorkian have seemingly been released from prison and are living a life of freedom. However, given their criminal past, they prefer to keep their personal lives private and away from the spotlight.
Read More: Jonathan Tieu and Bac Duong: Where Are Hossein Nayeri’s Cellmates Now?
You must be logged in to post a comment.