Thread: AZ: 7 men may face kidnapping charges

7 men may face kidnapping charges

Teen was being held to extort money from uncle, police say

by Michael Ferraresi - Nov. 27, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Seven men could face kidnapping charges after a police raid at a west Phoenix home freed a 16-year-old boy whose uncle is suspected of being extorted for nearly $100,000 in drug money, investigators said Wednesday.

Robbery detectives said bandits kidnapped the teen knowing that his uncle, who helped alert police, was involved in illegal drug deals that generated large amounts of cash.

Hundreds of kidnapping incidents tied to drug- and human-smuggling are investigated annually in the Valley. In many cases, families involved in crime hesitate to report missing loved ones and ransom demands to police for fear of retribution or arrest, police say.
"(The kidnappers) know (the families are) going to fear coming to us to report the crime," said Phoenix police Sgt. Alex Ortiz, who oversaw the investigation that led to Tuesday's raid.

"It's easier for a lot of these people just to pay the money rather than getting a hold of us, so they can go back to doing their illegal activity," Ortiz said.

Ortiz estimated that more than 300 kidnappings are investigated annually in Phoenix, though they range from human-smuggling operations to drug-related cases like one earlier this month where drug-dealers held an Avondale mother and her 3-year-old daughter for ransom for nearly a week, seeking a similarly large amount of cash from the family.

Phoenix police, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and federal agents began using a task-force approach earlier this year to address "rising violent crime associated with illegal immigration," according to DPS.

The Illegal Immigration Prevention & Apprehension Co-op Team, known as IIMPACT, has arrested more than 150 suspects tied immigration-related felonies since December.

Ortiz, who previously worked with IIMPACT, said many of those cases involve heinous acts of sexual abuse and torture.

The teen police rescued Tuesday from a house in the 11200 block of West Campbell Avenue was found bound and blindfolded with duct tape. He suffered minor injuries from beatings over a five-day period, police said.

The boy's uncle - Eric Ortega-Cortez, 33 - was arrested for an outstanding felony warrant for possession of drugs with intent to sell, police said.

Police said kidnappers targeted the victim at his uncle's house, taking him at gunpoint to another house just 5 miles away.

The following suspects will likely be charged with kidnapping and extortion, according to police and court records:


• Christian Angel Castro, 22.


• Michael Alexander Castro, 23.


• Jose Armando Hernandez, 21.


• Miguel Angel Ortega-Miranda, 32.


• Jesus Humberto Romo, 19.


• Alejandro Soto, 31.


• Jose Sebastian Valenzuela-Rabago, 22.

Six of the men will be held without bond because they are believed to be in the county illegally from Mexico, according to documents released Wednesday by Maricopa County court officials.

Michael Castro - who lived with his brother, Christian, at the house where the kidnapping victim was held - is being held pending a $150,000 bond.

www.azcentral.com

Six of the men will be held without bond because they are believed to be in the county illegally from Mexico, according to documents released Wednesday by Maricopa County court officials.

Hundreds of kidnapping incidents tied to drug- and human-smuggling are investigated annually in the Valley.

This is obviously at epidemic proportions and we just except this as another for granted incident. This newspaper is responsible for a lot of it since they usually don't like to identify these criminals as being in the US illegally.

Everybody should be taking this much more seriously (especially the Mayor who may want to replace Janet as Gov.) and they are totally ignoring it! This should be front page headlines in the Republic every day. I bet this story itself was buried somewhere in the paper too.