Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Police: Men arrested in kidnapping wanted $60,000

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Joel Anguiano-Barreto

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Alberto Mendoza

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Javier Perez

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Fernando Villalobos

Four men charged in an alleged kidnapping that began in North Las Vegas and ended in Green Valley may have been trying to extort $60,000 from the victim’s family — money they said was owed to them, according to statements to police.

Fernando Villalobos, 25, Joel Anguiano-Barreto, 30, Javier Perez, 24, and Alberto Mendoza, 29, have been charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, first-degree kidnapping with a deadly weapon and extortion.

According to the arrest declaration, authorities were notified after a bus driver drove by the victim’s home in the 3400 block of Brazil Street and noticed a man being beaten and forced into a gold SUV around 3:30 p.m. Jan. 5.

When police arrived, they found blood on the ground and a cell phone near the open door of a parked truck. The victim’s brother told police that the family received a phone call stating they had to pay $60,000 or the victim would be killed.

Police tracked the phone numbers and discovered the call came from the area of Boysenberry Lane in Henderson.

Authorities set up near the residence, where a man told officers that armed men were holding someone bound and gagged in the house.

Police got permission from the homeowner to enter the house and found the victim covered in duct tape, as well as two handguns, a shotgun and zip ties. Abut the same time, they detained several men who were trying to escape.

The victim later told police he was driven around town until he and his captors arrived at the Henderson house, where he said he was beaten.

Police said Mendoza, Villalobos, Perez and Anguiano-Barreto said in interviews that the victim’s brother owed them money for work they performed.

The defendants are scheduled to appear in North Las Vegas Justice Court tomorrow and were being held at the North Las Vegas Detention Center on $400,000 bail.

Dave Clark can be reached at 990-2677 or [email protected].

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