Trial begins in abduction, torture of Phila. Jewelers Row clerk

Six months after the brutal abduction and torture of a Jewelers Row shop clerk in a robbery attempt, the victim and one of the accused kidnappers will testify this week in federal court - testimony that prosecutors said Tuesday will be enough to convict two other men in the botched heist.

During her opening statements Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeanine Linehan called the crime "a woman's worst nightmare."

"For every second of those two hours, she thought about never seeing her loved ones again," Linehan told the jury. "She was absolutely sure they were going to kill her."

Salahudin Shaheed and Basil Buie are charged with beating and kidnapping the 53-year-old woman because she did not have important key codes for National Watch & Diamond Exchange, 101 S. Eighth St. They held her captive for two hours, only to dump her shackled body at a cemetery in Darby Township.

A third man, Khayree Gay, has pleaded guilty to the crimes and is cooperating with authorities. He, too, will testify.

Shaheed's lawyer, Lawrence Bozzelli, cautioned jurors not to trust Gay. He said that Shaheed is not guilty and that Gay is "diverting the blame" through his cooperation.

"What happened to the victim in this crime is real," Bozzelli said. "It did happen."

Agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives arrested Shaheed, 35, and his cousin Buie, 26, two months after the abduction, which took place April 4. The victim, authorities said, was bound, beaten, and Tased at least seven times.

Janice Davis, a Good Samaritan who spotted the victim on the side of a road near the cemetery, testified Tuesday that the victim was bleeding, her pants were down, and one eye was swollen shut.

"I hugged her," said Davis, whose 911 call was played for the courtroom. "I just tried to hold on to her. She was frantic. She kept saying: 'I was abducted. I was abducted.' "

mgelb@philly.com

215-854-2928@MattGelb