A brother and sister from Mexico have been convicted of kidnapping their neighbor and threatening to kill the victim unless the Southern California family paid a ransom, federal authorities said.
Mario Alex Medina, 54, and Maria Alejandra Medina, 51, of Rosarito, Mexico, were sentenced Friday for their roles in a violent kidnapping and ransom plot that took place two years ago. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a news release. Mario Medina, who was also convicted of international extortion, enlisted his sister and son in a scheme to defraud a neighbor’s family out of tens of thousands of dollars, authorities said.
His son, Jose Salud Medina, 31, is being held in Mexico on unrelated charges and will stand trial separately in connection with the kidnapping.
“These defendants subjected the victims and their families to horrific ordeals in order to illegally profit from them,” said U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada. “Such callous disregard and reckless use of violence against others cannot and will not be tolerated. These defendants will now face appropriate justice for their crimes. .”
On November 5, 2022, Mario Medina and an accomplice broke into a neighbor’s home near the resort town of Rosarito, about 20 miles south of Tijuana, according to federal prosecutors. They kidnapped the victim at gunpoint, pistol-whipped him and fired the gun near his head.
The next day, one of the kidnappers called the victim’s relatives in Los Angeles County and demanded $70,000 for his release. They also sent a video of him being beaten through WhatsApp instant messages.
The next week, they called the victim’s family again and threatened to kill her unless the family paid $30,000, authorities said. Some time after that call, Mario Medina pretended to be an intermediary between the victim’s family and the hostage takers.
Mario Medina told the victims’ families to gather at a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro, just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, to pay the ransom.
Authorities said Jose and Maria Medina met with the victim’s family and collected $30,000 to take to Mexico. Medina’s family tied up the victim and left him in a trench, but Mexican police rescued him.
Mario and Maria Medina are scheduled to appear in federal court on February 3 for sentencing. They face life sentences in federal prison.
