Hayden O’Byrne United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida | The Florida Bar
Three individuals have been sentenced to federal prison in Miami for their involvement in a conspiracy that led to kidnapping and death. James Edward Daniels, 59, and Frederick Eugene Rudolph, 69, both from Miami, Florida, received life sentences followed by five years of supervised release. Herbert Barr, 56, also from Miami, was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison with five years of supervised release.
The convictions stem from events on December 5, 2020, when Daniels, Rudolph, Barr and other accomplices kidnapped three individuals from a truck yard in Opa-locka. The victims were bound and tortured before being transported in a rented van after their drugs were stolen. They were then taken to an abandoned house where the kidnappers attempted to execute them. Two victims died while one survived.
Daniels was found guilty of stealing jewelry from one victim. All defendants gained either drugs or money as compensation for their roles in the crime.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida announced the sentences along with Acting Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO); and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division.
The investigation was conducted by members of several agencies including the FBI Miami Division Homestead Resident Agency, MDSO Homicide Bureau and DEA Homestead Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Yara Dodin and Katie Guthrie prosecuted the case.
This effort was part of the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force's operations which target drug-trafficking organizations in cooperation with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Further information about this case can be accessed on the District Court for the Southern District of Florida’s website using case number 23-cr-20431.
