Feds issue warrant in kidnapping
Suspect used to work for the victim, who was held for $10K
Federal agents are searching for two men who they say kidnapped a successful businessman from his Placitas home last month, drove him — blindfolded — to the Pajarito Mesa and held him in a shed for a $10,000 ransom.
The businessman, identified only as 69-year-old “DM,” was freed that night and dropped off near a South Valley gas station, covered with blood and with a shirt over his head. DM is described as owning a busi- ness with locations in both Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
A federal arrest warrant has been issued for one of the suspects, Jose Ramirez, a former employee of DM’s who is charged with kidnapping, carjacking, interference with commerce by threats or violence, conspiracy, and aiding and abetting.
Ramirez, 39, is considered armed and dangerous, an FBI spokesman wrote in a news release.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, on July 26 around 6 a.m. DM was heading out of his garage on his way to work in his red Ford Ranger when two people wearing stocking caps on their heads and blue bandanas over their faces jumped into his truck, wrapped their arms around his neck and covered his mouth. A struggle ensued.
“During the struggle, DM realized a snub-nosed revolver had fallen to the ground and DM was able to retrieve the firearm,” an agent wrote in the affidavit. “DM pointed the gun at one of the UNSUBS (unknown subjects) and pulled the trigger several times, however the revolver did not fire.”
DM said he realized the other kidnapper was armed with a semi-automatic pistol and, fearing he was going to be shot, he stopped fighting.
The kidnappers forced him into the middle seat, tied a shirt over his eyes and drove away, according to the affidavit.
DM told investigators that while the kidnappers knew him by his first name, knew he had two safes and believed he had “a significant amount of money in the bank,” he was able to convince them that all he could come up with was $10,000. They took his cellphone and $600 from his wallet.
At one point, DM said, the kidnappers took him out of the truck’s cab, tied him up, made him lie down in the bed of the truck and covered him with carpets. Then they drove to a remote compound west of Albuquerque.
Still blindfolded, DM was seated on a couch in a shed with a dirt floor, where he listened to his abductors speak with two women in Spanish.
He was then told to call his daughter and give her instructions on how to wire the remaining $9,400 to a bank account in Guadalajara, Mexico.
But the routing information was not sufficient to complete the transfer and, after several failed attempts, the kidnappers suggested DM’s daughter get cash and meet them Downtown.
It is unclear from the affidavit if the ransom was paid, but several hours later, around 10:45 p.m., DM was dropped off near the train tracks at Rio Bravo and Second Street SW. He had injuries to his head and face, and walked to a gas station where clerks called 911.
Agents were quickly able to identify Ramirez — who was on parole — as one of the suspects based on records of his his phone calls with DM’s daughter and a distinctive stutter, according to the affidavit.
When DM was shown photographs, he recognized Ramirez as an employee he fired nine years ago after a theft.
The morning after the kidnapping, agents went looking for Ramirez, but couldn’t find him. Ramirez’s parole officer said he had been ordered to wear a GPS ankle monitor, but had cut it off the day before the kidnapping.
A couple of days after the kidnapping, DM, who is a pilot, used his own aircraft to fly over the route he believed he had traveled and he identified the compound where he said he had been held, according to a search warrant affidavit agents filed on Wednesday. Agents requested help from the FBI aircraft and SWAT teams for the search.
FBI spokesman Frank Fisher said they “conducted a court-authorized law enforcement operation” on the Pajarito Mesa area Thursday morning.
On Thursday afternoon, he announced the agency is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to Ramirez’s arrest and conviction.