Fugitive returned to plea in brutal torture case

A man arrested in the Czech Republic for the brutal torture of a medical marijuana dispensary owner is back in Southern California to face trial.

Orange County prosecutors say 35-year-old Hossein Nayeri was extradited from Prague this week. He’s scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on multiple counts of kidnapping for ransom, aggravated mayhem, torture and burglary.

Nayeri is one of four men accused of attacking the victim at his Newport Beach home and torturing him as they drove him to a desert spot where they believed he had buried cash. Prosecutors alleged they cut off the victim’s penis and drove away with the penis so that it couldn’t be reattached.

The man survived his injuries.

Nayeri faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.