San Diegans Arrested For Alleged Kidnapping

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San Diegans Arrested For Alleged Kidnapping
Police: Victims Kidnapped While Crossing Border

POSTED: 9:16 am PDT October 9, 2005
UPDATED: 9:40 am PDT October 9, 2005

ONTARIO, Calif. -- Two men were arrested for investigation of kidnapping a woman and her father-in-law who were trying to cross the Tijuana border to see the woman's dying husband, authorities said.

A social worker at San Antonio Community Hospital, who was trying to help the dying man bring his family members to the United States legally, contacted police about the alleged plot, the Ontario police department said in a press release Saturday.

Officers arrested the suspects Saturday after intercepting them outside a local restaurant where the men had planned to exchange the 25-year-old woman and her 54-year-old father-in-law for a ransom. The suspects were identified as 20-year-old Ramiro Cervantes of San Diego and 41-year-old Gerardo Naranjo of San Diego.

Both victims, whose names were not immediately released, were freed without injury. They told police they had not eaten for three days.

The visa status of the victims was not immediately released, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was notified of the incident, police said.

The victims were being permitted to remain in the United States to deal with the death of their loved one, according to the police statement.

http://www2.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3102464

Smugglers arrested after stand off
Pair held two immigrants for extra ransom
By Jannise Johnson, Staff Writer



ONTARIO - Two would-be smugglers found their kidnapping-for-ransom scheme foiled after police intercepted them in an Ontario parking lot Saturday night.

Police arrested Ramiro Cervantes, 20, and Gerardo Naranjo 41, both of San Diego, on suspicion of kidnapping two people who were making their way from Mexico to the bedside of a dying relative in Upland, said Ontario police officer Bill Russell.

The two men were arrested after several police officers swarmed the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant in the 1600 block of east Fourth Street at 7:17 p.m. Saturday and held them at gunpoint. It was there that the kidnappers arranged for an exchange of money for their hostages, Russell said.

Police were informed of the kidnapping by a social worker at San Antonio Community Hospital in Upland. The social worker called police Saturday evening after she spoke to relatives who were visiting a dying relative at the hospital, police said.

Those family members told the social worker that the patient's 25-year-old wife and his 54-year-old father had been shuttled illegally across the U.S.-Mexico border and the smugglers were demanding an additional $2,000 per person for their release, Russell said.

The victim's names have not been released for their safety, said Ontario police Cpl. Robert Freire.

During their ordeal, the victims were transferred to three different houses in Mexico and not fed for three days, Russell said. At one point, the victims were held in a room with 20 other people with only a pot in the corner serving as a makeshift toilet.

"They weren't necessarily abused or injured, but they were not taken care of," Russell said.

Investigators are unsure why the victims chose to take the illegal route.

"They were trying to get through the legal process," Russell said. "I'm not sure whether the condition worsened for her husband or if they just thought this was a faster way." Both victims appeared malnourished when police recovered them, Freire said.

"We had to order Pizza Hut when we got to the station because they weren't looking so hot," he said.

An agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection was notified of the victims' presence in the country, Freire said.

Sean Isham, spokesman for the San Diego office of the Border Patrol, said an officer responded to the Ontario Police station but the two victims had already been released to handle their family business.

The Border Patrol agent would have accompanied the pair to the hospital, allowed them to visit their dying relative and supervised their trip back across the border, Isham said.

Cervantes admitted to authorities that he is in the country illegally, Freire said. He will have an immigration hold placed on him while in custody, he explained. In essence, that hold assures Cervantes will be immediately deported after he serves his sentence, Freire said.

Cervantes and Naranjo were booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of kidnapping for ransom.