South Texas man sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for hostage taking during a 2014 smuggling attempt

MCALLEN, Texas — A South Texas man was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in federal prison for hostage taking two Honduran nationals.

This sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez, Southern District of Texas. This investigation was conducted by the McAllen, Texas, and Long Island, New York, offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of the Pharr (Texas) Police Department.

Jesus Manuel Ramirez, 32, from Pharr, Texas, was sentenced Aug. 8 by U.S. District Judge Randy Crane to 240 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard from some of the victims who noted that not even illegal aliens should have to endure what they went through. In handing down the sentence, Judge Crane noted Ramirez held a position of responsibility and that he had assaulted one of the victims. Ramirez must also serve three years of supervised release after he completes his prison term. Ramirez pleaded guilty to the charge April 12, 2017.

According to court documents, the jury heard from several witnesses including the two victims who testified that on May 4, 2014, Ramirez and several co-conspirators began threatening and beating them because their families had not paid their smuggling fees. According to their testimony, on that day, one of the co-conspirators made several phone calls to their family members and conveyed that if they did not pay a sum of money, they were going to beat or kill both men.

Additionally, when the families failed to pay the money, Ramirez became upset and ordered a co-conspirator to restrain them. Both men were tied up and beaten. A family member recorded one of the beatings over the phone which the jury saw at trial. Both men testified that a co-conspirator continued to beat them and attempted to sodomize one of the men. Eventually, one escaped and was able to contact his brother who was being assisted by HSI special agents in Long Island.

An HSI special agent testified that he had rescued one of the Honduran men who led them to the apartment where he had been held against his will.  HSI special agents searched the apartment and encountered the second Honduran national, dressed only in boxer shorts. Alfredo Jaime Balli, 26, Jose Angel Mayorga, 21, and Gustavo Hernandez-Castro, 30, were arrested at the apartment. Ramirez was arrested in August 2016 when crossing into the United States from Mexico.

Balli, Mayorga and Hernandez pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to 216, 240 and 120 months, respectively.

Ramirez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo J. Leo and Linda Requenez, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.