Thread: Illegal Alien Suspects Named in Abduction of 3 Year Old

Suspects Named in Abduction of 3 Year Old Briant Rodriguez

KTLA News
5:52 PM PDT, May 18, 2009

SAN BERNARDINO -- Investigators today announced the names of two men suspected of kidnapping 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez two weeks ago.

Liberto Vega, 30, and Israel Moreno, 28, are believed to be the men who burst into Briant's San Bernardino home May 3 and abducted him after first tying up his family and ransacking the house.

Both men have criminal histories in San Bernardino County.

Also wanted for questioning is Claudia Acosta-Serrano, age 21. Acosta-Serrano is the girlfriend of Vega and investigators believe she was in communication with Vega after the kidnapping and met with him in Mexico.

She is wanted only as a person of interest for questioning.

The boy was found by a Mexican police officer Friday wandering on a street in Mexicali.

According to Lt. Rick Ells of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, a municipal police officer spotted the boy wandering the streets of Mexicali alone late Thursday.

The officer thought that Briant was a neighborhood child, and took him door to door seeking his family before taking him to child protective custody.

Mexican authorities did not realize who the child was and didn't notify U.S. authorities until Friday afternoon, Ells said.

Investigators received a call from a Mexicali official later on Friday saying they found a child that may be Briant Rodriguez, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

FBI agents and the boy's mother -- Maria Rosalina Millan -- flew to Calexico late Friday, in hopes of identifying the boy as her abducted son.

An FBI agent crossed the border and handled immigration paperwork for the boy, who holds dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship, according to Ells. Then, the FBI agent escorted Briant back across the border to be reunited with his mother.

The reunion did not happen until the day after Rodriguez's mother arrived in Calexico because of the amount of paperwork involved in the cross-border incident.

A spokesman for the Baja California state prosecutor's office also said Millan wasn't able to see the boy right away because he understood she was an illegal immigrant in the U.S. and did not want to risk crossing the border.

San Bernardino police declined to comment on Millan's immigration status.

It was discovered that Briant's kidnappers had shaved the boys hair off in an attempt to hide his identity.

It had become widely known that the 3-year old had long curly hair after his picture was circulated by police and media outlets.

The suspects pictured in a surveillance photo circulated by police are still at large. The two men are believed to have robbed Briant's family at gunpoint before abducting the 3-year old.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops says the image came from a surveillance camera in a store near the home.

Authorities believe the picture was taken two days before the abduction, when the men were buying unspecified material to tie up the family members.

Hoops also says the men could be driving a green Ford Bronco.

Sheriff's investigators said they received numerous tips since Rodriguez was abducted by two armed men who entered his home on Sunday and tied up his family, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

The two suspects, armed with handguns, tied up the mother and four other children and ransacked the home before escaping with the child and an unknown amount of cash, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff's Spokesperson Cindy Beavers said.

One of the children, an 8-year-old boy, freed himself and then untied the rest of the family, Beavers said.

The ages of the rest of the children was not immediately known, but authorities said Briant is the youngest of Millan's seven children. Her 16-year-old boy was not home and another adult child does not live at home.

The boy's father was at work at the time of the abduction.

San Bernardino Sheriff's officials believe the suspects to be unknown and unrelated to the Rodriguez family.

They said authorities believed they were closing in on at least two suspects when the boy was found.

Investigators have not established any motive and were looking at several theories, including that the Spanish-speaking kidnappers were from Mexico and may have ties to organized crime there.

No ransom was ever demanded.

The family reportedly plans to move out of the home as soon as possible.
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Pictures of them at this link:

They said on the air that both of the suspects are illegal aliens who have been previously deported.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-b ... 4071.story

Suspected kidnappers in Briant Rodriguez case likely hiding in Mexico

By Stacia Glenn
Posted: 05/18/2009 01:56:51 PM PDT

Investigators today announced the names of two men suspected of kidnapping 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez two weeks ago and said they have likely fled the country.

Liberto Vega, 30, and Israel Moreno, 28, are believed to be the men who burst into Briant's San Bernardino home May 3 and abducted him after first tying up his family and ransacking the house. Investigators are also looking for Vega's girlfriend, 21-year-old Claudia Acosta-Serrano, who is believed to be traveling with the fugitives.

Both men have criminal histories in San Bernardino County though all are misdemeanor charges. The District Attorney's Office on Friday issued felony no-bail warrants for Vega and Moreno on suspicion of home invasion and kidnapping. Federal warrants have also been filed on both men on suspicion of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Vega and Moreno, who investigators said have been living in the U.S. illegally, were born in Mexico. Both have been deported at least once before.

"We will leave no stone unturned until these two are brought back to San Bernardino County to stand justice," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Don Roberts. "We will not take a break until that happens."

Court records show Vega has had seven run-ins with authorities, the first of which was in 2004 when he was arrested on suspicion of burglary. That case was dismissed. In 2005, he was convicted four times of vehicle charges ranging from driving under the influence to driving on a suspended license. The following year he was charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance and in 2007 Vega was charged with providing false information to police and driving without a license. Both of those cases are still pending.

Moreno's local criminal history only dates back to 2008, when he was convicted of driving under the influence. He has an open case from February 2009 that charges him with driving with a suspended license while under the influence.

Sheriff's detectives, working with the FBI, were able to identify the alleged kidnappers after tracking down footage from two local surveillance cameras. Footage from a local hardware store shows the men buying the same tape used to bind Briant's family two days before the home invasion. It also shows Vega and Moreno leaving the store in an older model green Ford Bronco.

The second tape was taken from a liquor store near Briant's home. It shows the same Ford Bronco speeding out of the neighborhood three minutes before the boy's mother, Rosana Millan, called 911.

Briant was found safe Thursday wandering the streets of border town Mexicali. He was reunited with his mother Saturday. Local doctors examined the boy Saturday night and said he has no physical injuries.

No motive has yet been released, though investigators said they are sure that Vega and Moreno targeted Briant's family.

"We have Briant back now so our focus can now turn to figuring out why this happened and who was involved," said sheriff's Sgt. Doug Hubbard, adding that narcotis issues have not been ruled out.

Briant's family have repeatedly denied any connection to illegal activity.

http://www.sbsun.com/ci_12396693?source=most_viewed

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Abducted Ca. boy found in Mexico- UPDATED - MOM ILLEGAL


http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-156527.html

Glad the child was safe. However the child and his Mom should have sent to Mexico not brought back into our country.

The boy was found by a Mexican police officer Friday wandering on a street in Mexicali.

I find this hard to believe. It was probably all part of some deal, "You don't have to walk the kid into the police station, we wouldn't want to have to reveal your identity, so just drop him off near the police station and we'll wander outside at the designated time and 'discover' him walking around.

The drug gangs that this family are involved with probably copped this deal with mexican police.

Do we need a campaign to bug ICE until they deport this uh, huh...'family'.

They DEFINITELY do not need to be in OUR country.

What's the ICE number for this jurisdiction?

How much more of an "I'm an illegal alien" flag can someone wave around?