Alleged kidnappers' binge helps man escape
By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Posted: 02/05/2009 12:00:00 AM MST



A man allegedly kidnapped in Juárez by a pair of El Paso residents was able to escape when his captors got drunk and fell asleep after a day of drinking tequila and beer, the Mexico attorney general's office said Tuesday.

Juan Manuel Rico Gonzalez, 38, and Leo poldo Omar Sanchez Medina, 40, who told investigators they live in El Paso, face kidnapping, weapons and drug charges after allegedly holding Ger ardo Ivan Orozco Armendariz for a ransom of $20,000 and vehicles, officials said.

Orozco, whose brother is married to the sister of Rico's wife, said that he was kidnapped at 10 a.m. Jan. 29 at his Juárez home, and that he was beaten and that the kidnappers used his cell phone to ask for a ransom while holding him at a house on Juan Gabriel Avenue, near the Chihuahua state attorney general's office building, officials said.

That night, after Rico and Sanchez became drunk and fell asleep, Orozco quietly escaped and ran until he found a group of soldiers, who then raided the home and arrested the alleged kidnappers, officials said.

Officials said Rico denied asking for any ransom, saying the three men had simply spent the day drinking.

In the house, soldiers also found nine packs of marijuana, a sawed-off shotgun, a handgun and a computer disk titled "2008 Database to Locate People in Chihuahua," officials said.

Officials said Rico told them he is a U.S. citizen, works at an ironworks company in El Paso and spent eight years in U.S. prisons before being released in June from the Texas state prison in New Boston. Sanchez said he lives in the area of Vista Del Sol and George Dieter Drive, sells clothing in El Paso and also has a house in Juárez.

El Paso Police Department and FBI officials said that neither Rico nor Sanchez is under investigation by their agencies because the kidnapping took place in Mexico.

In other matters, Andres Cortez, a prominent dentist-orthodontist who was kidnapped Friday, was released by his captors, and a Delphi plant manager who also was kidnapped Friday was released. Details on these two kidnappings were not available Wednesday.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102. El Paso Times reporter Diana Washington Valdez contributed to this story.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_11631037