All defendants face life in federal prison if convicted of conspiracy and of kidnapping
DENVER - The four men involved in the late August early September kidnapping of an individual have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced today, in conjunction with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, the Lakewood Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. The four were originally charged in state court after being arrested for the kidnapping. The state charges were recently dismissed following the federal grand jury returning an indictment focused on the kidnapping. The date and time when the defendants will appear in U.S. District Court in Denver has not yet been determined.
The Indictment, returned by the grand jury on Sept. 27, 2016, was sealed until the court recently granted a motion to unseal. According to that Indictment, beginning in August 2016, and continuing through September 5, 2016, defendants Marco Cota-Tamaura, age 36, Raymundo Maldonado-Salgado, age 22, Jonatan Maldonado-Salgado, age 19, and Hernando Aguilar-Banuelos, age 30, conspired to kidnap a victim, namely A. F.-P., while using a cellular telephone. As a manner and means of the conspiracy, the defendants, acting interdependently; Discussed possible ways to abduct A. F.-P., and to conduct visual surveillance of A. F.-P. in order to carry out the abduction; equipped themselves with weapons and tactical equipment in order to carry out the kidnapping; arranged for, and permitted the use of, various residences and vehicles in order to carry out the kidnapping; used cellular telephones to communicate with each other and make ransom demands; and distributed the ransom money among one another in shares.
In furtherance of the conspiracy, on Aug. 30, 2016, Raymundo and Jonatan Maldonado-Salgado and Marco Cota-Tamaura, and others known and unknown to the federal Grand Jury, traveled to and entered a place of business in Lakewood, Colorado, carrying weapons and wearing masks, forcefully kidnapping A. F.-P. by binding A. F.-P.’s hands and forcing A. F.-P. to exit the store and enter a vehicle driven by the conspirators; between Aug. 30, 2016 and Sept. 3, 2016, A. F.-P. was forcibly held at the residence of Hernando Aguilar-Banuelos, which Hernando Aguilar-Banuelos agreed to vacate so that his co-conspirators could use his residence to hold the victim; between Aug. 30, 2016 and Sept. 2, 2016, Raymundo Maldonado-Salgado used cellular telephones to make ransom demands to A. F.-P.’s father, demanding $200,000 in United States currency; on Sept. 3, 2016, after having made ransom demands, Raymond Maldonado-Salgado and Jonatan Maldonado-Salgado drove to where the demanded ransom money of $200,000 had been placed, and took the money; and on Sept. 3, 2016, after receiving $200,000 in ransom, Raymond Maldonado-Salgado and Jonatan Maldonado-Salgado took A. F.-P. to A. F.-P.’s fathers home and released A. F.-P.
“An elite team from the Lakewood Police Department, the FBI, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office worked tirelessly to solve this case and rescue the victim," said Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer. “The professionalism and partnership of this kind of team are things violent criminals should fear and the public should be proud of."
All four defendants face one count of Conspiracy to Kidnap and one count of Kidnapping, with both counts carrying a penalty of not more than life in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine. All but Marco Cota-Tamaura also face one count of Receipt of Ransom Money, which carries a penalty of not more than 10 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine. Finally, Raymundo Maldonado-Salgado also faces one count of unlawful reentry in the United States, which carries a penalty of not more than 2 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the Lakewood Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI, with substantial support from the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.
The defendants are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Garreth Winstead with cooperation from the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.
The charges contained in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
