An FBI tactical team rescued a kidnapped 17-year-old from a California motel, source says

Also: Three Defendants Arrested on Federal Complaint Alleging They Kidnapped Inland Empire Teenager Held for Ransom in Santa Maria (U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California)

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Source: CNN

An FBI tactical team rescued a kidnapped 17-year-old from a California motel, source says

By Josh Campbell and Emma Tucker, CNN
Published 1:07 PM EDT, Sat September 23, 2023

(CNN) — An FBI special weapons and tactics team stormed a Southern California motel Friday morning, rescuing a kidnapped 17-year-old boy who was being held for ransom, a law enforcement source familiar with the operation told CNN.

Fidel Jesús Patino Jaimes, Jair Tomás Ramos Domínguez and Ezequiel Felix López were arrested during the operation in Santa Maria and charged with kidnapping, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Kidnapping carries a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

No shots were fired in the arrests, the source said.

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/23/us/fbi-swat-abduction-california/index.html

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Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California

Three Defendants Arrested on Federal Complaint Alleging They Kidnapped Inland Empire Teenager Held for Ransom in Santa Maria

Friday, September 22, 2023
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California

RIVERSIDE, California – Three men were arrested today and have been charged in a federal criminal complaint alleging they kidnapped a 17-year-old boy in San Bernardino County and held him for ransom in Santa Maria.

Fidel Jesús Patino Jaimes, 22, Jair Tomás Ramos Domínguez, 26, of Santa Maria, and Ezequiel Felix López, 27, all of whom told law enforcement they were from Santa Maria, were arrested Friday morning and were charged this evening with kidnapping, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The defendants are expected to make their initial appearances on Monday afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside.

“Few things can be as terrorizing to a parent as having your child kidnapped and held for ransom under threat of physical harm,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Together with the FBI and our local law enforcement partners, we have acted swiftly to rescue the victim and bring the abductors to justice. I commend the agents and officers for their heroic efforts to free the victim and prevent a devastating tragedy from occurring.”

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, on the morning of September 18, the defendants allegedly caused a traffic accident in which the victim – a 17-year-old boy – crashed into their silver-colored Jeep Grand Cherokee. After the collision, the victim exited his vehicle. At that point, the defendants allegedly grabbed the victim and forced him into their vehicle.

On the afternoon of September 18, the victim’s mother received a telephone call from a Mexican phone number. The caller demanded the delivery of $500,000 to an unspecified location in Nogales, Mexico for the victim, and said that the abduction was the fault of the victim’s father.

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Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/three-defendants-arrested-federal-complaint-alleging-they-kidnapped-inland-empire