El Paso man sentenced to over 21 years for deadly kidnapping
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — An El Paso man was sentenced Wednesday, April 24 to 262 months in prison for kidnapping resulting in death, the United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Texas announced in a press release.
According to court documents, Armando Leonardo Moreno aka Cholo, 21, served as a soldier in a transnational criminal organization (TCO) and conspired with other TCO members on or around Sept. 13, 2021, to kidnap a subject from an El Paso stash house.
The kidnappers drove the subject to another address, dragged him out of the vehicle and beat him in the front yard of the home before taking him inside and beating him further, according to the press release.
On Sept. 16, 2021, the subject was found dead in Las Cruces with multiple gunshot and stab wounds.
Codefendants Michelle Karen Avila, Ruben Pimentel and Ricardo Matthew Gutierrez were previously sentenced, according to the press release.
Avila was sentenced to 60 months in prison, Pimentel was sentenced to 108 months, and Gutierrez received a 135-month sentence.
A fourth defendant, Alberto Rodriguez, remains in federal custody and is scheduled to be sentenced May 1, according to the press release.
In addition, Homeland Security Investigations, the El Paso Police Department, the New Mexico State Police and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated the case.
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