TUCSON, Ariz. - A southern Arizona man was sentenced to more than a decade in prison for his role in an armed hostage-taking conspiracy involving illegal aliens.
What we know:
In April 2022, Homeland Security Investigations received a tip from someone in New York that two of his cousins, who were in the country illegally, were being held hostage. The tipper said their captors were demanding a $16,000 ransom to release them.
"The armed captors confiscated their cellphones and then transported the six aliens to a house where they were held for multiple days in a room where the door was screwed shut each night to prevent escape. The two cousins were the final hostages to have their ransom paid," the United States Attorney's Office said.
The two men were allegedly part of a group of six people abducted in the desert by armed men after crossing the U.S. border.
Who Was Sentenced:
Julio Cesar Rodriguez Rojas, 30, was sentenced to 13 years in prison, after previously pleading guilty to aiding and abetting conspiracy to hostage-take.
Who Else Was Involved:
His co-conspirators, Olegario Lares-De La Rosa and Ivan Heriberto Borboa-Ruiz, are both from Mexico. and were previously sentenced to 18 years and 14 years in prison, respectively.
"Investigators learned that Borboa-Ruiz made the phone calls arranging for the ransom and hostage exchange. Rodriguez Rojas then instructed Lares-De La Rosa to bring the cousins from where they were being held," officials said.
How They Were Caught:
Two undercover agents met with Borboa-Ruiz for a money exchange in Tucson, two days after receiving the New York tip. He was armed with a 9mm pistol, given to him by Rodriguez Rojas.
Borboa-Ruiz got the $16,000 ransom money, called Rodriguez Rojas saying they were "good," and that the two victims could be released. Rodriguez Rojas then told Lares-De La Rosa to release the victims, who got out of the car and walked to the vehicle where the ransom was paid. That's where Borboa-Ruiz was arrested.
During his arrest, Lares-De La Rosa fled, leading agents on a high-speed pursuit. He threw the pistol out of the car window and bailed, running into a residential neighborhood. He hid in several backyards before his arrest.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez Rojas had also fled the scene, but was arrested sometime in 2023.
The Source: Information in this report was provided by the United States Attorney's Office.