- by cnn
- 15 Aug 2024
An FBI special weapons and tactics team stormed a Southern California motel Friday morning, rescuing a kidnapped 17-year-old boy who was being held for ransom, a law enforcement source familiar with the operation told CNN.
Fidel Jesús Patino Jaimes, Jair Tomás Ramos Dominguez and Ezequiel Felix López were arrested during the operation in Santa Maria and charged with kidnapping, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Kidnapping carries a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison, according to a statement from the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.
No shots were fired in the arrests, the source said.
CNN is attempting to locate attorneys for the defendants via court records and the US Attorney's office and has sought comment from the FBI.
The criminal complaint alleges that last Monday, someone in Highland, California, heard a loud bang outside their home and then reviewed their Ring camera footage. The person saw that two men had taken the victim from his vehicle and pulled him into a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee, the complaint said.
Upon seeing the Ring footage, the investigator noticed front damage to the vehicle that the 17-year-old victim had been driving, according to the complaint. This led the investigator to believe that the alleged kidnappers' Jeep had caused an accident, which had triggered the teen to exit his vehicle. The teen was then forced into the Jeep.
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