A 13-year veteran of submarines in the U.S. Navy, he received a full medical discharge when he developed multiple sclerosis. He was severely injured in a hit-and-run accident when a car slammed into his bicycle from behind.

His injuries, and now advanced multiple sclerosis, have left him a quadriplegic and fully dependent on other people to survive.

But his biggest disappointment came in a cramped Everett hotel room. That's where he's been held captive since December of last year.

He receives government assistance to pay for food, medicine, and a part-time caregiver. In November he says the caregiver abruptly quit.

"And these two showed up," he said of a man and a woman who appeared the next day. "And they took charge."

Greene says they refused to move him from his wheelchair parked in the corner of the room. They held him captive, wouldn't let anyone else see him, wouldn't let him take or receive phone calls, fed him sleeping pills to shut him up and starved him on purpose.

"He'd say 'OK you asked for water? Just for that you don't get any,' and so I'd go for three or four days with none."

Greene says they did help him to the bathroom; once every four or five days. He says his money and possessions began to disappear. Receipts from pawn shops took their place.

Even the voice controls and hand controls are gone from the wheelchair he's been sitting in non-stop since December.

"I can't move the chair because they disassembled everything," said Greene. "So I'd yell. And pretty soon I couldn't even yell."

"I asked him at one point 'why am I being held captive here? What is it you want?'"

"They were homeless people looking for a free ride and they decided to get one," said James' friend, Renee Mansfield.

Upset that James' new "caretakers" continually blocked her attempts to see or talk to him, Renee finally called 911 Wednesday and got a police officer to go with her to the hotel room.

The officer took one look at the room, asked James what had been happening, and immediately put the man and woman under arrest.

Police say the man and woman had partitioned the small room with blankets and sheets, nailing them to the ceiling and wall to close off James' small corner of the room. He spent most of the last three months in the dark.

They left themselves the side of the room with the bed and television and allegedly used the barrier to hide what else they were doing.

"I had found needles under this bed," said Renee. "I found crack pipes I found meth pipes and there was a marijuana pipe."

Similar drug paraphernalia was also found in James' car which his caregivers are allowed to use to run errands for him and take him places. James says they only used it for themselves these last three months.

The male suspect is identified as a 34-year-old convicted felon with a lengthy criminal record. He was held in the Snohomish County Jail Thursday night on a charge of unlawful imprisonment.

"Back in '86 his life has been taken away from him and it's still being taken away," said Renee. "People are still taking from him."

"I wish they'd stay in jail for the rest of their life," said Greene. "I wouldn't even wish them on my worst enemy because they're bad. They're evil."

James Greene's friends planned to stay with him in his hotel room Thursday night and move him to a new and more permanent apartment on Friday.

How To Help:

If you're interested in making a donation, you can call the People Helper at (206) 441-HELP, or you can email peoplehelper@komo4news.com.

Checks can be made out to:

People Helper
P.O. Box 19087
Seattle, WA 98109

On the bottom of the check, be sure to include to whom you would like the funds to go. In this case, it's James Greene. Or, indicate if you'd like to donate to the General fund. 100% of your donations go to people in need.

Your donations are tax deductible and you will receive a receipt by mail with our thanks. Any extra funds will go to the general People Helper fund to help others in need.