Kidnap suspect in court
DA still weighing murder charges in victim’s death in failed FBI rescue
Jimmy Tony Sanchez, 38, appears in court Wednesday in Conroe. Sanchez was one of three arrested in connection with the kidnapping of Ulises Villadares on Jan. 24. An FBI agent killed Villadares during a raid in Houston.
CONROE — Two of the three people accused of robbing and kidnapping a Conroe man for ransom appeared in court Wednesday and were denied bail due to the severity of the crime.
The victim, Ulises Valladares, was shot and killed Jan. 25 by an FBI agent during a rescue attempt at a home in the 7300 block of Elbert Street in Houston.
Jimmy Tony Sanchez, 38, and Nicholas Chase Cunningham, 42, are charged with felony aggravated kidnapping and felony aggravated robbery.
A third suspect, Sophia Perez Heath, 35, is charged with felony aggravated kidnapping and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning. All three cases are being heard by Judge Phil Grant in the 9th District Court.
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office has not determined if it will seek murder charges.
“During this preliminary stage while we are still in the fact-finding and investigative stages, we are very comfortable with the charges that we currently have filed,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon. “We are seeking no bonds on these cases as we believe those are appropriate. Hopefully as to what charges would be the most appropriate to take to a jury, we still have time to make that determination.”
Sanchez will be represented by a court-appointed attorney, Tucker Graves, and Denny Yates and Tony Duckworth were appointed to represent the other two suspects, Cunningham and Heath, respectively.
“The state filed a motion for denial of bail, and the judge granted that motion,” Graves said. “At some point in the proceedings, we will have a contested bail hearing. I will now work to start collecting evidence while the whole case is still under investigation and will be for some time. This will be a very difficult case as there are a lot of parties involved and moving parts.”
Yates, the attorney for Cunningham, echoed Graves comments by adding, “I don’t perceive this ending any time soon.”
Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Blackburn will prosecute the case.
The original incident occurred Jan. 24, when two men now identified as Sanchez and Cunningham allegedly burst into Valladares’ home in the 1700 block of Tyler Lane in Conroe where he and his son were getting ready for the day. After restraining the son and his father, the two then demanded money that they said was owed to them by Ernesto Valladares, who also lived at the home and is the brother of Ulises.