Two Laredo men sentenced to prison for kidnapping scheme

LAREDO, TX (KGNS) - Two men are sentenced to federal prison for kidnapping and holding four victims for ransom.

Jesus Ochoa, 27, a Laredo resident and Luis Armando Garcia, 29, a Mexican Citizen illegally living in Laredo pleaded guilty to the charges.

Back in Nov. of 2020, Ochoa and Garcia offered four people crossing the river into Laredo a ride to San Antonio in exchange for payment.

Instead of being taken to San Antonio the four victims were taken to Garcia’s house in Laredo .

The hostages were forced with threats to contact their family members through videos, voice messages, texts and calls to ask for four-thousand dollars for their release.

Garcia and Ochoa held the hostages for three days.

Ultimately, authorities tracked the location of the phone calls.

However, Ochoa and Garcia moved the hostages and left them at an industrial park in Laredo.

The victims were able to borrow a phone from a truck driver and call for help.

Ochoa was sentenced to over 15-years in prison, Garcia 16 years.

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