United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

KIDNAPPER SENTENCED TO 28 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR THE
KIDNAPPING OF A MAN IN RICHARDSON, TEXAS

DALLAS — Salomon Bocanegra, 27, one of five defendants charged in the May 4, 2007, kidnapping of Carlos Moreno Esquivel in Richardson, Texas, was sentenced today to 340 months (28 years) in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Last week, codefendant Juan Jose Ornelas-Castro, who pled guilty in July to his role in the kidnapping, was sentenced to 27.5 years in federal prison. At this morning’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade also ordered that Bocanegra pay $26,018 in restitution.

Bocanegra pled guilty on July 17, 2007, to conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, use of interstate facilities to demand a ransom and using, carrying or brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He was in the car with Gerardo Diaz when FBI agents shot and killed Diaz.

Salomon Bocanegra, Jose Ornelas-Castro, Heberto Bocanegra, a/k/a “Christopher” a/ka/ “Beto,” Damarius Ornelas-Castro and Sylvia Rodriguez, were charged in a federal indictment with various offenses related to the kidnapping of Carlos Moreno Esquivel. The remaining three defendants have pled guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced in a few weeks.

According to documents filed in Court, on May 4, Salomon Bocanegra, Juan Jose Ornelas-Castro, Heberto Bocanegra, a/k/a “Christopher” and a/ka/ “Beto,” and Damarius Ornelas-Castro agreed to rob an individual they believed was distributing large quantities of drugs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. They went to Esquivel’s residence on Devonshire Road in Richardson, armed with handguns, and when they arrived at the residence, they kidnapped Esquivel, at gunpoint in his front yard, and forced him into a vehicle, believing that they could collect a ransom of cash and drugs. Once inside the vehicle, Esquivel was restrained, shot and beaten by various defendants, and driven to a tire shop in Dallas, where he was held against his will. While he was being held, the defendants made numerous phone calls to Esquivel’s family members in the Republic of Mexico demanding cash and pound quantities of methamphetamine for his safe release.

Early the following morning, the defendants moved Esquivel from the tire shop to a trailer located as 2324 Cedar Rock, in Dallas, and kept him there blindfolded, restrained and at gunpoint. He was beaten and forced to use a cell phone to call individuals to request that a ransom be paid for his release.
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Later that morning, Salomon Bocanegra, Juan Jose Ornelas-Castro, who was armed, and another individual later identified as Gerardo Diaz, went to the Wal-Mart at 1521 North Cockrell Hill Road in Dallas to collect what they believed to be several thousand dollars in U.S. currency and pound quantities of methamphetamine. They agreed to release Esquivel in exchange for the money and methamphetamine. Heberto Bocanegra and Damarius Ornelas-Castro, who were also armed, were left at the trailer to ensure that Esquivel did not escape. After Juan Jose Ornelas-Castro arrived at the Wal-Mart parking lot, FBI agents attempted to detain him. He tried to flee and was involved in an automobile accident and subsequently arrested, along with Bocanegra, by FBI agents. Gerardo Diaz was shot and killed by FBI agents attempting to detain him in the Wal-Mart parking lot when Diaz attempted to run down one of the pursuing agents with a vehicle. DPD officers and FBI agents located Esquivel at the trailer on Cedar Rock in Dallas and took Damarius Ornelas-Castro into custody. Heberto Bocanegra and Sylvia Rodriguez were arrested trying to leave the location in a vehicle. Esquivel was found bound and blindfolded in the bathroom; he had been shot and severely beaten.

The kidnapping victim, Carlos Moreno Esquivel, along with six other defendants were subsequently charged in a separate indictment with participating in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy during the time of the kidnapping. Esquivel is also set to be sentenced in January 2008.

The case was investigated by the FBI, with task force officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Garland Police Department, Dallas Police Department, and Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Office of Inspector General. The Richardson Police Department co-investigated the case with the FBI. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also provided assistance in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert.

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