California authorities charged three men for allegedly kidnapping a teen rescued after being held hostage for four days with a massive $500,000 ransom.
Officials noted that the suspects were arrested on Friday morning and were charged in a federal criminal complaint. They allegedly kidnapped the teenage boy from Highland, California, and held him hostage nearly 200 miles away in Santa Maria, California.
California Teen Rescued from Kidnappers
The Department of Justice identified the suspects as 22-year-old Fidel Jesus Patino Jaimes, 26-year-old Jair Toma Ramos Dominguez, and 27-year-old Ezequiel Felix Lopez. All three defendants told law enforcement personnel that they were from Santa Maria.
The three men allegedly caused a car collision on the morning of Sept. 18 in San Bernardino County. It was the area where the victim crashed into the suspects' silver-colored Jeep Grand Cherokee, as revealed by an affidavit filed with the complaint. The teenage boy exited his car, where the suspects took him by force and made him go into their Jeep, as per USA Today.
Then, the victim's mother received a call from a Mexican phone number. The caller said that they wanted $500,000 delivered to an unspecified location in Nogales, Mexico, in exchange for her son's safety. The caller also blamed the abduction on the victim's father, authorities said.
Following the call, the victim's mother received a video from a separate Mexican telephone number via WhatsApp that showed the teenage boy riding in the backseat of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The captors forced the young boy to read off a script that said his father was to blame for the incident because of something in New York.
The DOJ said that the captors also threatened to cut off the victim's body parts unless the payment was made. While the ransom was eventually brought down to $100,000, it was never actually paid.
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Charged in a Federal Criminal Complaint
Investigators were able to track the suspects to a motel in Santa Maria by assessing a Facebook marketplace post that listed the silver Jeep driven by the captors up for sale. A document also noted that they analyzed ring camera footage of the kidnapping to locate the suspects, according to NBC News.
On Friday morning, investigators executed a search warrant for a motel room and discovered the victim and the three suspects. The 17-year-old was found on the floor in a corner of the motel room.
They also discovered a loaded 9-millimeter handgun and switchblade inside the motel room. In a statement, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said that few things can terrorize a parent more than having their child kidnapped and held for ransom. They noted that working with the FBI and local law enforcement partners allowed them to act swiftly to rescue the teenage boy and capture the suspects.
Now, the suspects face life in prison if they are convicted of the charges against them and are scheduled to appear in court on Monday, said KCRA.
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