Left: Suspects allegedly using a stolen bank card at PNC Bank in Pontiac, Michigan. Right: One of the suspects, Leica Lopez Martinez, who cops say participated in the robbery of a man who recently won $100,000 (U.S. Attorney”s Office).
What started out as a stroke of good fortune for a Michigan man simply acting as a good Samaritan for helping a person he thought was blind turned into a nightmare when his own family allegedly robbed and kidnapped him.
The wild series of events began on Aug. 15 when the victim saw a social media influencer who was pretending to be blind outside a pawn shop in Detroit, according to police. After the victim stopped to help the man, the social media influencer revealed his true identity. The influencer then organized a GoFundMe that raised over $100,000 plus a new car for the victim.
But instead of being happy for the victim, his nephew, Roland Terrell Chatmon, orchestrated a plot to rob and kidnap him, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit.
Some of the plot was captured in recorded phone conversations between Chatmon and his brother who is an inmate at the Wayne County Jail. Chatmon expressed his desire to “turn a hustle” on his uncle because he was struggling, feds said.
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“I need some racks real quick,” Chatmon allegedly said, referring to cash. “I’m tired of this s—.”
Chatmon, his brother and mother then spoke with each other on the phone where he allegedly said he could “figure” something out.
“Ma, faster than ya’ll gambling,” he said, per the feds. “I be done got a good ten [grand].”
On Sept. 1, Detroit police began investigating a kidnapping and home invasion at the victim’s home in southwest Detroit. The victim’s wife said two armed individuals came into her home, pointed a gun at her and tied her up, the affidavit said. They asked “where is the money” before stealing a safe. Not long after, cops responded to a vehicle fire on the city’s east side where they found the victim tied up near his burning GMC Yukon Denali.
The victim said he was allegedly tied up in his vehicle and the suspects drove around to numerous ATMs withdrawing cash. He said he was tied up in the truck when the suspects went to his home to steal the safe, per police.
In an interview with cops, the victim allegedly said he picked up a woman later identified as Lecia Lopez Martinez who claimed she needed a ride after her car was taken. He drove Lopez Martinez to a home when an armed man and woman came up to his truck and demanded “money or they would kill his wife.”
Federal agents used bank records, Cash App records and license plate readers to peel back the layers of the alleged conspiracy and identify the other people involved. Phone data showed Chatmon, Lopez Martinez and Ieasha Stroman were in the area of the victim’s residence around the time of the home invasion robbery. Surveillance video also showed the cash withdrawals at the ATMs, cops said.
The victim also was able to identify Lopez Martinez as the woman whom he picked up, according to the affidavit.
After stealing nearly $4,400 from the victim’s bank accounts, Ieasha Stroman and her wife Dnequia Stroman transferred the cash to Kenneth Anderson’s Cash App account, cops said.
ATF agents on Friday raided the suspects’ homes and hotel rooms and recovered the clothing and guns they allegedly used in the robbery.
All five suspects are facing conspiracy to commit kidnapping charges.
Local Fox affiliate WJBK reported about the viral social media stunt when it occurred. The victim said he was trying to pawn his wife’s wedding ring to pay for their utility bill when he encountered the “blind” man. He helped the man stand up and gave him a few dollars. That’s when the man revealed he was not blind, rather he was a social media influencer under the name of MDMotivator.
“We need more people like Curtis in this world,” said the influencer, whose real name is Zach Dereniowski told the outlet. “Everyone can do these small acts because the small acts are what matters. That’s where all this money came from. Everyone that had a small amount to give wanted to give to you because they felt your heart.”
