Police: Illegal immigrants held at gunpoint in Phoenix
4 commentsby Tessa Muggeridge - Aug. 27, 2009 11:49 AM
The Arizona Republic
New details from the Department of Public Safety about 13 illegal immigrants detained in west Phoenix Tuesday reveal that four men have been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping the immigrants, one as young as 14, and holding them at gunpoint.

Detectives from the Illegal Immigrants Prevention and Apprehension Co-op Team, who made the arrests, believe the suspects intended to extort money from the immigrants, according to a statement released by the Department of Public Safety.

Phoenix Police Department units were responding to a burglary call early Tuesday morning and observed a car driving erratically. The car had no connection with the burglary.

When officers stopped the vehicle, 12 occupants who fled on foot near North 39th Avenue and West Roosevelt Street were captured.

The man believed to be the driver of the vehicle was arrested on the scene on suspicion of kidnapping charges.

After detaining 12 immigrants - 11 adults and one 14-year-old - investigation revealed the group had been taken to a home on the 5000 block of West Cambridge Avenue earlier Tuesday morning, according to the press release. Several heavily-armed individuals broke into a home and held the immigrants at gunpoint for four to six hours, DPS spokesman Earl Sanders said Thursday.

A short time after DPS detained the 12 immigrants, a 13th man, armed with a gun, approached a police car on 43rd Avenue claiming he was a local landscaper. DPS believes the man was the 13th passenger in the vehicle and suspect he was the smuggler, or coyote.

DPS conducted an investigation and arrested three additional adult male suspects, two from an apartment on the 3000 block of West McDowell Road and one from the 3000 block of West Fillmore Street. All were taken into custody without incident.

A rifle, shotgun, two handguns, several rounds of ammunition and black masks were uncovered from the homes, along with other evidence.

The four men - suspected of being bandits who typically kidnap illegal immigrants from other criminal organizations to extort money from them - are being held at the Fourth Avenue Jail on charges of suspected kidnapping and weapons misconduct. The men's ages range from 21 to 37. Three are Mexican and one is a U.S. citizen.

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