The man charged with torture in a brutal Grand Rapids assault at a homeless camp has been ordered to undergo a competency exam.
A man charged with torturing two people at a Grand Rapids homeless camp used pliers to remove their teeth and an ax to break their feet, according to court documents.
Antwoine John Antwine, 31, has been ordered to undergo a forensic exam to determine if he understands the charges against him and can assist in his own defense.
Gruesome details of the June 23 assault indicate Antwine sprayed his victims with Mace and restrained them with zip ties before working them over with an ax, club and pliers.
He tortured the man and woman before leaving several hours later with a purse and two cell phones, court records indicate.
“During the assault he had used the back side of an ax to break their feet and several other bones,’’ Detective Case Weston testified on June 25 in swearing out a warrant.
“Also during the assault, he took a pair of pliers and removed several of the teeth from both the individuals as a way to elicit information from them,’’ Weston wrote.
Grand Rapids police were called to the area of Hamilton and Broadway avenues on the city’s Northwest Side on a report of a woman in distress, court records show. They found the woman, who was nearly incoherent.
“She had been beaten quite severely and had made comments that she lived at a homeless camp nearby and that there was a male with her,’’ Weston testified, according to a court transcript.
Police went looking for the homeless encampment and “found a male submerged in the river that they lived by, with his head still above water and was clinging to life.’’
“He had been zip tied with his feet and his hands and had been also fairly brutally beaten,’’ Weston testified.
The pair told police another homeless individual by the name of Antwoine “had come during the night and assaulted them and then stayed for several hours.’’
The victims were taken to a Grand Rapids hospital with critical injuries. Both suffered broken bones and the woman had a collapsed lung.
Police located Antwine at a separate homeless camp. He admitted to beating the pair “because he had felt that they had stolen something from his homeless camp and wanted to get some information from them,’’ Weston testified.
“He admitted that he had removed their teeth with pliers and that he had zip tied them and basically had done all those things that he was charged with.’’
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker charged Antwine with two counts of assault with intent to murder, one count of torture and one count of armed robbery. The offenses are punishable by up to life in prison.
Antwine was also charged with unlawful imprisonment, a 15-year felony.
The torture charge accuses Antwine of intending to “cause cruel or extreme physical or mental pain and suffering, inflict great bodily injury or severe mental pain or suffering’’ upon the victims.
“We don’t see torture that often,’’ Becker said. “It’s a fairly troubling charge and there are some serious allegations.’’
Investigators found a video at a local hardware store that shows Antwine purchasing Mace and zip ties. A search of his tent turned up a purse and two cell phones that belonged to the victims, court records indicate.
“Those were found in the tent where Mr. Antwine was ultimately arrested at,’’ Weston testified. “He denied taking the items. But they were found in his tent.’’
Antwine, who was born in New Jersey, has been in Grand Rapids for about a year and does not have a job.
During a recent court hearing, a Grand Rapids District Court judge approved the forensic evaluation, which could take several months to complete. Antwine remains held without bond in the Kent County Jail.
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