Posted on 10/09/2008 11:24:56 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
PHARR - A woman entering McAllen from Reynosa was held for ransom here last week for $200, according to a probable cause complaint.
Three men demanded $200 from Luz Elena Lopez on Thursday and told her she wouldn't be released from a Pharr residence until she came up with the amount, the victim reportedly told investigators.
Police say after arriving in McAllen, Lopez met Antonio Medina Jr., 20, and Jose Miguel Alvarez, 17, who drove her to the residence, according to the complaint.
Both Medina and Alvarez were charged with aggravated kidnapping Friday and are in jail with $100,000 bond. A third captor, a minor, was also arrested.
Lopez reportedly tried to contact several people to let them know she needed money, but nobody could come up with it, according to the affidavit.
Her three captors then drove her to her former residence, an Edinburg apartment, after she told them she was expecting a check in the mail here. Police apprehended the men at the Edinburg residence.
Police learned of the kidnapping from Elijio Rivera, an acquaintance of Lopez. The alleged kidnappers spoke to Rivera by phone and demanded money for Lopez's release, prompting Rivera to call the police.
By about 4 p.m. Thursday, Rivera learned that Lopez and her captors were traveling to the apartment, which helped lead police to the scene.
Pharr Police Lt. William Edmundson declined to describe the circumstances that led to Lopez's encounter with her alleged kidnappers, citing Lopez's safety and an ongoing investigation.
He said she had not made prior contact with them before she was kidnapped.
Edmundson also declined to say whether Lopez lives in Mexico or Texas, but he said she is believed to be a Mexican national.
The men and their affiliates remain under investigation, Edmundson said.
Hmmm...$200? Sounds kind of high. How much is that in Pesos?
Illegal Aliens just doing the kidnapping that Americans won’t do!
2500 pesos
Last year alone, Phoenix police reported 357 extortion-related abductions - up by nearly half from 2005 - targeting individuals with ties to Mexican smuggling rings.
In addition, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement police have also recorded cases of kidnappers snatching illegal immigrant day laborers off the street for ransom.
Agents have also recorded a growing number of “virtual kidnappings,” in which abductors cold-call an immigrant’s family falsely claiming that they are holding them hostage. The tactic is used frequently Mexico, where abduction is a lucrative and sophisticated industry.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1318241/2191123
( Illegal Alien ) Criminals targeted in U.S. “kidnap capital” Mexican crime wave
Reuters ^ | Oct 8, 2008 | Tim Gaynor
Posted on Thursday, October 09, 2008 8:29:48 AM by HollyButler
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2101301/posts
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