Thread: Fugitive back in U.S.

Fugitive back in U.S.

By JASON BUCH
LAREDO MORNING TIMES
Published: Thursday, June 11, 2009 4:38 AM CDT

Mateo Ezequiel Valiente Solis told FBI agents that he begged Enrique "Kike" Adriano not to kill him."I don't care, this is what I do," Adriano replied, before shooting Valiente Solis once in the head and once in the chest, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court by the agents.

Adriano is back in the U.S. facing trial. He is the last suspect in a Laredo kidnapping two years ago that ended with the victim shot and left for dead on the Mexican bank of the Rio Grande.

He appeared in federal court last month on charges of conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping and use of a firearm in a crime of violence in connection with the attack on Valiente Solis. He is scheduled to go to trial later this month, and faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Federal prosecutors allege Adriano was the man who shot Valiente Solis in February 2007 in Mexico near the Rio Grande.

Valiente Solis survived, and testified at the trial of three men involved in his kidnapping and shooting.

Five men have been convicted in connection to Valiente Solis' kidnapping.

Adriano had been a fugitive in Mexico.

The men were partying at the home of Mario Obregon on Feb. 17, 2007, when an argument erupted between Valiente Solis and other members of the group.

A jury in 2007 found Obregon guilty of the same charges filed against Adriano. Obregon is appealing his 26-year prison sentence, which was handed down by a judge last year.

Obregon did not have a criminal history and had acquired a significant amount of money through a medical malpractice lawsuit and real estate investment, but his home had become a hangout for a violent group of young men, according to court records.

He was out of the house when Adriano and his companions jumped Valiente Solis and threatened him with an AK-47, according to testimony in his November sentencing hearing. He came home to find Valiente Solis badly beaten, and gave Adriano and Rogelio "Koki"Isai Garcia permission to take their victim to Mexico, according to court records.

Garcia is serving a nearly 12-year prison sentence for his part. The three other men who were convicted were given sentences ranging from 8 to 22 years in prison.

(Jason Buch may be reached at 728-2547 or jbuch@lmtonline.com)

http://www.lmtonline.com/articles/2009/ ... 982019.txt

All illegals are criminals; they are only separated by degree.