U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani | U.S. Department of Justice
A Pharr man, Sixto Gonzalez Jr., 27, has been sentenced to federal prison for hostage-taking. The U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced the conviction following Gonzalez's guilty plea on May 15, 2023.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane ordered Gonzalez to serve a 240-month sentence in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. During the hearing, evidence was presented about Gonzalez's violent criminal history and attempts to bribe a correctional guard while in custody. The court emphasized the severity of the crime, injuries sustained by the victim, and Gonzalez's ongoing criminal behavior.
"The victim in this case was lured into Mexico because Gonzalez assumed that authorities wouldn't bother to invest resources into a kidnapping that occurred there," said Hamdani. "The United States will continue to work with law enforcement authorities around the world to protect American citizens abroad and bring to justice those that think foreign ground is a safe haven from prosecution."
Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp of the FBI’s San Antonio Field Office stated: “U.S. citizens deserve to be safe from violence, no matter where they are.” He added that "the FBI relentlessly works to protect the American people whether they are here or abroad - and we do so with vigor, commitment and determination." Tapp expressed hope that the sentence provides some comfort to the victim and urged anyone with information about crimes against Americans overseas to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Gonzalez admitted he unlawfully detained a 19-year-old Alamo man for ransom. On June 23, 2021, he lured the victim into Mexico under false pretenses of a job opportunity. Once there, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators beat and restrained him at a house in Reynosa, Mexico. They demanded $5,000 and a firearm for his return between June 23 and June 25.
When the family couldn't immediately provide these demands, conspirators sent them footage showing their relative being beaten with a wooden board until it broke.
Law enforcement eventually located the house where he was held captive. Upon searching it, they found him bound with zip ties under a blanket with bruises all over his body; Gonzalez was also present inside.
Gonzalez remains in custody awaiting transfer to an unspecified U.S Bureau of Prisons facility soon.
The investigation involved collaboration between FBI agents alongside Reynosa State police from Tamaulipas Mexico; Assistant U.S Attorneys Colton Turner & Roberto Lopez prosecuted this case effectively ensuring justice served accordingly.
