DA: They wanted pounds of pot, and when they didn't get it, they beat him and demanded ransom

Jacques

A Suffolk County grand jury today issued indictments against four people for allegedly kidnapping and torturing a Brighton man in an Allston apartment in an attempt to get drugs from him this past June.

At the same time, the DA's office says it has dropped all charges against two women initially charged in the case - Cheerley Chevalier of Taunton and Farrah Girault of Roxbury - saying they were unwitting accomplices to the plot.

Campbell

Facing charges of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping with intent to commit extortion, attempt to murder, and arson are Joseph Caldwell, 25, of Mattapan, Domonic Campbell, 20, of Cambridge, Tyon Feaster, 24, of Cambridge and Jillian Jacques, 23, of Allston.

According to prosecutors, the man had sold small amounts of pot to Jacques in the past; the four hatched a plot in which Jacques would lure the man to her apartment and force him to get them "pounds of marijuana:"

Caldwell, Campbell, and Feaster ambushed the victim as he entered the apartment, pointing a gun at his head and taking from him a small quantity of marijuana. After demanding that he order pounds of marijuana for delivery to that address, and after being told that he could not do so, the men beat him and demanded money instead. In the process, they threatened to cut off his fingers, mutilate his genitals, and kill him.

When the victim told them that he could only raise about $1,000, the assailants allegedly demanded five times that amount. They took the victim’s cell phone and set in motion a ransom plot, calling the victim's brother and promising to shoot their hostage in the head if his family did not deliver the ransom. They directed Chevalier and Girault to pick up that money at the Dudley MBTA station across town.

Later, firefighters responding to a fire at the apartment allegedly set by the four found:

[T]he victim tied to a chair with electrical cords. He was suffering from serious facial injuries and bleeding from his eyes. Emergency medical technicians treated him at the scene and rushed him to Beth Israel Hospital, where he told detectives that a woman named "Jillian" had lured him up to her apartment where he was set upon by two men.

The victim was so badly beaten that bones around his eyes were broken and he was not immediately able to view photographic arrays because his eyes were swollen shut.

All four pleaded innocent at arraignment in Brighton District Court today; were held in lieu of bail ranging from $50,000 to $150,000.