Friday, February 11, 2011

Some details released in kidnap case

BRIGHTON | Three teenagers kidnapped two men last fall, wrapped duct tape around their mouths and eyes and left them bound in a locked storage shed for more than a day, prosecutors said Friday.  

Chief Deputy District Attorney Justin Moore said the three defendants then demanded a $50,000 ransom and four automobiles for the victims' release. 

“It does not get much more extraordinary than this,” Moore said. 

Moore’s comments during a court hearing Friday morning marked the first time police or prosecutors have publicly discussed details of the case since the November arrests of Jaime Baca, 20, Edgar Alonso Montelongo, 19, and Mariano Rosales, 17. 

A judge sealed much of the evidence against the three defendants shortly after their arrests, including arrest affidavits and police reports.  Police and prosecutors have declined to discuss the case. 

All three have been charged with first-degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit first-degree kidnapping and aggravated robbery. They also face sentencing enhancers accusing them of committing a crime of violence. If convicted, they could face up to life in prison on the kidnapping charge alone. 

The three, who have been in jail without bond since their arrests, appeared in Adams County Court on Friday for preliminary hearings, at which a judge was expected to rule if there was enough evidence for the defendants to stand trial. But instead of moving forward with the hearings, at which more details about the crime likely would have been discussed, all three defendants waived their rights to preliminary hearings. 

Rosales, who prosecutors have charged as an adult, pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and Judge John E. Popovich, Jr., scheduled his trial for July. 

Baca and Montelongo are scheduled to enter their pleas March 24. 

Baca’s lawyer, Douglas Romero, said in court Friday that his client was forced into the crime and that he gave the victims a blanket and tried to console them during the ordeal. 

He mentioned a possible plea agreement with prosecutors that he said would involve Baca, who turned 20 after his arrest, pleading guilty to second-degree kidnapping and receiving a sentence of 16 to 48 years in prison. 

Also Friday, lawyers for the three defendants, who are expected to be tried separately, asked a judge to grant them bond of $200,000. Prosecutors said the defendants are eligible for bond, but asked the judge to set it at $1 million, citing the seriousness of the allegations. 

Judge Popovich set bond for the three at $750,000, pointing out that all three are flight risks, Baca and Montelongo because they are in the country illegally from Mexico and Rosales because he doesn’t have a job, spouse or children in the area. 

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