There was a moment in time when Whitney Houston would do anything for her love, Bobby Brown — even if that meant paying a $400,000 ransom to save the R&B bad boy‘s life.
David “Popcorn” Collins, a former gangster in Harlem, New York, said there was no real beef with Bobby Brown when his gang, the Preacher Crew, run by Clarence Heatley, aka “Preacher,” kidnapped him in the ’90s. Collins was an eyewitness to the entire plot and has shared his account of what happened on various platforms, especially in his books, “Preacher of the Streets” and “No More Harlem: The David Collins Story.”
“It was April 1993. Whitney’s movie ‘The Bodyguard’ and the movie’s album were big hits,” he said in a 2009 interview with The National Enquirer before breaking down what happened on the night his gang decided to snatch up one of music’s biggest stars.
Preacher, the gang’s leader, and his crew decided to take a trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to indulge in some bottle-popping. Spur-of-the-moment trips to go party were a way of life for The Preacher Crew, who were big spenders known for making a great deal of money selling cocaine, crack, heroin, PCP, and other drugs in Harlem and the Bronx.
The night was full of revelry. However, things took a turn when they met up with a dealer named “Luke” from New Jersey, who claimed he and his crew had a beef with Bobby Brown. Allegedly, the “Don’t Be Cruel” singer owed them $25,000 for a kilo of cocaine he copped from them on consignment.
“When we see this motherf—r Bobby Brown, we gonna kill him,” Collins says Luke told Preacher. “He borrowed a ki of coke from us about three months ago, and he’s ducking us.”
Brown was a titan of a star in 1993. His sophomore solo album sold over 7 million copies, and he had five songs from the project that landed in the Top 10 slots of Billboard Hot 100 hits.
He had also just married Whitney Houston in 1992. The couple shared a lavish mansion in Mendham, New Jersey, and because Mendham was right over the George Washington Bridge, Bobby often made trips to NYC to frequent The New Yorker — the same club where Sean “Puffy” Combs, Jennifer Lopez, and Bad Boy rapper Shyne would be involved in an infamous shootout years later.
Knowing Bobby’s nightly hangout spot, Preacher and his crew offered to settle Bobby’s debt.
“Preacher came up with a plan to make himself a lot more than $25,000,” Collins told the National Enquirer.
“I tell you what, let me buy that beef from you. I’m gonna give you $10,000 right now, and it is no longer your problem. It is my problem. You ain’t got nothing to do with that,” Preacher said, according to Collins.
The Preacher Crew, who terrorized the Bronx and Harlem, were responsible for 47 murders by the early 1990s. The notorious gang was known for its torture tactics. They would chop off body parts and even kill to get what they wanted.
After paying Luke and his crew $10,000 to resolve the issue, Preacher devised a plan, and in a calculated move, the crew enlisted a sexy Harlem vixen to entice Bobby Brown at The New Yorker nightclub.
Dressed to impress, she sat nearby, aiming to engage him in conversation. The first night, Bobby did not speak to the sexy decoy; however, the next night, she successfully lured the R&B star outside, leading Brown directly to The Preacher Crew’s van, which was waiting to snatch him and make a swift yet discreet abduction.
Kidnapping was part of the Preacher Crew’s M.O. In 1987, they kidnapped Joann Nichols, the wife of Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols, holding her for $77,000 ransom. She was eventually freed. On December 5, 1989, Donnell Porter, the 12-year-old brother of Harlem legend Rich Porter, whom Mitch in the film “Paid In Full” was based on, was kidnapped and held on $500,000 ransom. The family was unable to gather the funds to save the 12-year-old. After Rich Porter was killed on January 3, 1990, and now unable to collect the ransom, The Preacher Crew killed Donnell, wrapped him in 14 black plastic bags, and dumped his body on a bicycle path in Manhattan. His body was later found badly decomposed on January 30.
Rich Porter & Donnell Porter. 1984. pic.twitter.com/XVClcTK4dJ
— Boss (@_ValTown_) March 24, 2024
After kidnapping Brown, The Preacher Crew transported him to a Bronx apartment illegally occupied by Preacher inside one of the borough’s many abandoned buildings.
Inside, a man named Malik took charge, stripping Brown naked, hog-tying him, and stuffing a rag in his mouth.
“He was a weird dude from Virginia,” Collins says, describing Malik. “He was a military brat. He had a military background, you know.”
Upon learning that the man he had hogtied was the multiple-platinum New Edition singer, Malik bizarrely attempted to coerce a performance from him.
“Sing the f—n song,” Collins recalls Malik demanding.
When Brown refused to sing, Malik took a lighter, grabbed a naked Brown by his penis, and then allegedly burned the hairs off of his scrotum.
Throughout this ordeal, Brown remained restrained and exposed.
“The Preacher then showed up and took the rag out of Bobby’s mouth. ‘It’s a shame we have to kill you,’” Collins reveals in his book. The R&B star begged for his life, pleading that his wife would pay the debt.
“Preacher left the room, and his men then terrorized Bobby for two hours. They kicked him. They told him they would kill Whitney. One of them put a gun to his head. Bobby was weeping when the Preacher came back in the room, begging the Preacher to let him call Whitney,” an excerpt from Collins’ book reads.
Eventually, Preacher allowed Brown one phone call to his celebrity wife. Once on the phone, Preacher and his guys leveraged her husband’s pitiful plight to negotiate a $400,000 payout.
Upon learning the terms to secure his freedom, Whitney Houston was told by the gangsters not to involve authorities.
Houston, disguised in oversized glasses and a wig, arrived solo in a cab at a Bronx location with a bag containing the money to secure her husband’s release. Unshaken by the dingy apartment and the dangerous and armed hustlers in the room, she entered the apartment, boldly tossed the money onto the floor, and demanded that someone tell her Brown’s whereabouts.
The men told her that he was in the other room, and after learning where he was, she wasted no time to get to him, untied him, and demanded that the people who kidnapped her man get his clothing.
“They came to an agreement. She was personally going to bring $400,000 to get her man back. The next day, she did just that. She was wearing a wig. She paid the money. Bobby was free to go,” recounts Collins.
Collins says that while the “I Will Always Love You” singer was bossed up and strong during the ordeal, her husband was a crying wreck.
“You know, you got you got gangsters sitting there with guns in their hands,” he said, “She was gangsta. … She came to get that motherf—ker.”
After witnessing her assertiveness, Collins said he and his crew had newfound respect among the men for Houston’s strength, loyalty, and dedication to her loved one.
Houston and Brown were married from 1992 to 2007. Their marriage was beset by drug addiction and physical abuse. At the same time, Houston recorded her biggest-selling album, “The Bodyguard,” which sold over 45 million units worldwide.
Clarence “The Preacher” Heatley was indicted on July 15, 1996, on three counts of murder and conspiracy to murder in aid of racketeering activity at age 43. In February 1999, he took a plea deal, pleading guilty to racketeering and murder conspiracy in connection with 13 drug-related homicides to avoid the death penalty. He is now serving a life sentence.
