FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	ANGELA DODGE
Nov. 13, 2007	PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/TXS	(713) 567-9388

HOUSTON MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR HOSTAGE TAKING

(HOUSTON, Texas) -  Chris Spezzia, 25, of Houston, has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for hostage taking and brandishing a firearm in connection with the hostage taking, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle Jr. announced today.

At a sentencing hearing Friday, Nov. 9, 2007, U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. sentenced Spezzia to concurrent prison terms of 240 months for conspiring to commit hostage taking and two substantive counts of hostage taking. Spezzia was also sentenced to a consecutive 72-month prison term for brandishing a firearm in connection with the hostage taking, resulting in a total prison term of 312 months. Spezzia has been in federal custody since his initial arrest in this case, Jan. 9, 2007.

Spezzia was convicted of all four felony counts following a jury trial in May. During the trial, jurors heard the testimony of agents, the defendant’s girlfriend and the victims in this case detailing the events of early January 2007, when Spezzia and others smuggled four undocumented aliens into the U.S. through Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, including a Honduran national whose brother, Elmer, lived in Houston. The smugglers, including Spezzia, demanded an $1800 smuggling fee from Elmer for smuggling his brother into the U.S.   

On Jan. 6, 2007, Elmer, accompanied by a friend, met with Spezzia and other smugglers at a gas station at the Beltway and South Post Oak to deliver money to secure the release of Elmer’s brother, but Elmer did not have the entire smuggling fee with him. When Spezzia discovered the full fee was not forthcoming, he pulled out a pistol and struck Elmer on the forehead causing serious bleeding. Elmer’s brother, who had been transported to the meeting site, fled from Spezzia with Elmer’s friend. Spezzia and two other unidentified smugglers then took Elmer hostage and kept him for four days at a Howard Johnson’s on I-45 South and Dixie Farm Road. During these four days, Spezzia and others in his organization called a close friend of Elmer’s threatening to kill and torture him unless an increased fee of $3200 was paid.

On Jan. 8, 2007, Spezzia called Elmer’s friend. While on the phone, Spezzia burned Elmer’s forearms with a hot iron and hit Elmer’s feet with a hammer so the friend could hear Elmer’s screams. Elmer’s friend went to the police. Thereafter, recorded telephone calls between Elmer’s friend and the smugglers were made which helped agents locate Spezzia. The following day, Spezzia and his girlfriend, Patricia Garza, were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and Houston Police Department (HPD) officers outside the Howard Johnson’s, and Investigating agents rescued Elmer. An unregistered short-barreled shotgun was discovered at Spezzia’s residence located next door to the hotel. Patricia Garza has been convicted for her role in the offense and is pending trial.

The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by special agents of the ICE, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and officers of the HPD. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jimmy Kitchen and Gregg Costa.

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