A man from Bayside was sentenced to 10 years in prison for kidnapping and torturing a Port Washington woman, according to the Queens County district attorney’s office.
Daisy Machuca was cleaning the home of Devanand Lachman on Feb. 13, 2015, when she was abducted by him and an unapprehended male, the district attorney’s office said.
The office gave this account: Lachman and his wife, Ambar, accused Machuca of stealing cash and a gold chain; Machuca was struck by Lachman several times and had her feet burned with a welding blowtorch. Ambar threatened to have Machuca killed.
Last week, Queens Supreme Court Justice Robert C. Kohm sentenced Devanand Lachman, 35, to 10 years in prison followed by five years’ post-release supervision and Ambar, 35, to five years’ probation.
The couple pleaded guilty in September 2017 — Devanand Lachman to second-degree kidnapping and Ambar to unlawful imprisonment.
“The defendants suspected their housekeeper [Machuca] — who had been working for them for several months — had stolen from their home,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement. “But the real crime, in this case, occurred when the defendants decided to take the law into their own hands by abducting the woman.”
Machuca arrived at the Lachman’s home to clean on Feb. 13, 2015, at 8 a.m., according to a report from the Queens district attorney’s office. Devanand and another man arrived at 1 p.m. with knives and a firearm. Machuca, who was 58 at the time, had her phone and wallet taken from her and was punched multiple times by Devanand while he accused her of stealing from his home.
According to Brown, Ambar returned home shortly thereafter and watched as Devanand burned Machuca’s feet with a blowtorch. Ambar told the victim that she knew Machuca had stolen from them and they would kill her if she did not return the stolen items. She took Machuca’s keys and then went to her home in Port Washington to search for a case and the chain.
She was unable to find the items, Brown wrote.
According to online records, the Lachmans were arrested the following day and charged with robbery, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Todd Greenberg, Devanand Lachman’s attorney, told Newsday that his client’s emotions got the better of him.
“This is not characteristic of him,” Greenberg told Newsday. “He’s extremely remorseful … If their emotions didn’t interfere, they would have gone to the police.”
Greenberg said that thousands of dollars were missing and the gold chain was intended for one of Lachman’s children. He also told Newsday that the assault and use of blowtorch on Machuca was done by Lachman’s accomplice, who remains at large
