An Alexandria lawyer who was dragged from his home by three gunmen last month testified yesterday that he tried to flee when they directed him toward a freshly dug grave but that the apparent ringleader vanished once the lawyer agreed to drop a lawsuit.
Kenneth E. Labowitz, 55, gave his first public recounting of the kidnapping during a preliminary hearing in Alexandria General District Court for two of the suspects. Judge E. Robert Giammittorio sent abduction charges against David M. Kluttz, 37, and Aubrey "Mike" Berryman, 25, to a grand jury, along with a firearms charge against Kluttz.
The preliminary hearing for the third suspect, Frederick A. Baruday, 75, was postponed until Feb. 15 pending a mental examination.
On the stand, Labowitz calmly and methodically provided a detailed account of how he and his family were terrorized by three men in black fatigues, two wearing masks, beginning at 11:20 p.m. Dec. 7.
The civil lawyer said he was in bed watching the news when his son came in and told him that federal agents were in the house. Labowitz said he walked into his living room to find the three men, all wearing holstered pistols and one wielding a rifle, "and the tall one said I was under arrest for attempted $7,500 bribery of a federal agent."
Labowitz said one man handcuffed him, and another said, "You really made a mistake this time, Mr. Labowitz." The lawyer said he recognized the voice as that of Kluttz, whom he had been battling in court for months.
Labowitz explained in court that he had been appointed the guardian of Eloise O'Connor, 87, who was declared incompetent by a judge in late 2003. O'Connor lived at the Watergate at Landmark high rise in Alexandria with her nephew, Baruday, the beneficiary in her will. Kluttz and his family also lived at the Watergate.
In sorting through O'Connor's affairs, court records show, Labowitz found that O'Connor's will had been amended to make Kluttz and his family the beneficiaries. The title to her apartment also had undergone a tangled web of deeds and transfers. Labowitz filed suit to nullify the new will and clear the title.
That's where the case stood when he recognized Kluttz's voice in his living room. Labowitz turned to his wife and said, "This is Kluttz," and she tried to intervene.
Kluttz told Labowitz's wife she would be shocked with a stun gun if she did not step back, Labowitz said. "She didn't step back," and he shocked her, Labowitz said. She screamed, and the men left with Labowitz.
Kluttz pulled his mask off as he and another man, whom Labowitz identified as Berryman, drove him to the Watergate. When they arrived, Labowitz said, the third assailant reappeared and Kluttz told Labowitz, "Look, this is Fred," referring to Baruday.
"I said, 'Hi, Fred, how are you?' " Labowitz said. "Then I just bolted." The lawyer ran a short distance before falling, breaking two ribs and a collarbone. He said the men picked him up, then thumped him with a flashlight and shocked him repeatedly with the stun gun.
He said the trio tried to lead him up a hill toward a fresh pile of dirt. "David said he wanted to show me what he had prepared for me. It was my grave," Labowitz said of Kluttz.
Labowitz resisted. Kluttz then told Baruday to kill Labowitz. Baruday pulled a knife, but Labowitz said he kicked Baruday in the knee. At that point, he said, Berryman ran away.
Kluttz then pulled his handgun, Labowitz said, and placed it across the lawyer's nose. The gunman told Labowitz he knew where Labowitz lived and could kill him at any time.
"Dismiss the lawsuit," he said Kluttz demanded. "Done," Labowitz replied. Then Kluttz removed the handcuffs and fled.
Baruday cursed Labowitz and said, "I'm going to kill you," Labowitz said, but the lawyer backed down the hill. After police were alerted by Watergate residents, an officer then appeared and arrested Baruday. The other two were picked up the next day.
During his hour-long testimony, Labowitz did not say how he and his family have fared since their ordeal.
Detective Thomas Durkin testified that Berryman told him the plan was only to scare Labowitz and that Berryman was to be paid $300 to $500.
