Mission police raid homes, arrest kidnappers

Officers also discovered group of illegal immigrants
April 17, 2009 - 8:31 PM
Ana Ley
The Monitor

MISSION — Police here arrested three suspects Friday in connection with a March 29 kidnapping.

Officers refused to identify the accused, citing the ongoing investigation. They were found at a home at the intersection of South Stewart Road and Expressway 83 near Alamo and at a home near Edinburg, according to Mission police spokesman Jody Tittle.

Tittle said his department raided the two homes based on intelligence suggesting the kidnappers frequented those locations.

The kidnapping occurred March 29 on Angus Street in Mission, Tittle said. Police refused to release further details about the abduction.

Tittle said officers retrieved items from the homes suggesting the suspects - two adults and one juvenile - had made prior contact with the victim. Officers also found 12 to 15 illegal immigrants in the home near Edinburg. U.S. Border Patrol agents detained the illegals and later assisted in the raid there.

Police said the kidnapping did not appear to be connected to the group of illegal immigrants.

"They're criminals," Tittle said of the three arrested suspects. "They'll kidnap someone one week and (harbor illegal immigrants) another."

He said it appeared as though the suspects kidnapped the victim for money.

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