Current:Home > MarketsTwo men convicted of kidnapping, carjacking an FBI employee in South Dakota -MacroWatch
Two men convicted of kidnapping, carjacking an FBI employee in South Dakota
View
Date:2025-04-26 18:23:50
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A federal jury in South Dakota has convicted two men on charges related to the 2022 kidnapping of an FBI employee.
The jury in Rapid City on Tuesday found 29-year-old Deyvin Morales and 25-year-old Juan Alvarez-Soto guilty of kidnapping, carjacking and other counts, the Rapid City Journal reported. Alvarez-Soto, who is from El Salvador, also was found guilty of unlawfully entering the U.S. after being deported.
Both men face sentencing April 12 and could get up to life in prison.
The men and a third suspect, 29-year-old Karla Lopez-Gutierrez, left Greeley, Colorado, on May 5, 2022, and were on a “drug trafficking trip” to South Dakota in a Ford Expedition, prosecutors said.
The Expedition was chased by a South Dakota trooper at one point before getting away. Nearly out of gas at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Morales told the others they needed to “take over” a new vehicle, Lopez-Gutierrez testified.
A short time later, the FBI employee was speeding in his Dodge Durango when he saw the Expedition and pulled over, believing it was a tribal officer. Prosecutors said the suspects took the Durango at gunpoint and forced the victim to go along.
When the group stopped to buy gas and zip ties at the town of Hermosa, South Dakota, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) from Red Shirt, the victim was able to escape.
Morales and Alvarez-Soto were arrested in Greeley, a week later. Lopez-Gutierrez was arrested in August 2022 in Loveland, Colorado. She pleaded guilty in August and is scheduled for sentencing Feb. 8.
Alvarez-Soto’s defense attorney, Alecia Fuller, cited “a lot of doubt” in the government’s case. Fuller said there was no intent to harm the victim.
Jonathan McCoy, the attorney for Morales, said there was no proof that Morales was even present for the crime.
veryGood! (62788)
Related
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Boston College vs. Denver Frozen Four championship game time, TV channel, streaming info
- Utah school board member who questioned a student’s gender loses party nomination for reelection
- Utah school board member who questioned a student’s gender loses party nomination for reelection
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- When does NBA play-in tournament start? Games could feature Lakers, Warriors, Heat
- FCC requires internet providers to show customers fees with broadband 'nutrition labels'
- Australian World War II bomber and crew's remains found amid saltwater crocodiles and low visibility in South Pacific
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- What we know about the Arizona Coyotes' potential relocation to Salt Lake City
Ranking
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- 'We'd like to get her back': Parents of missing California woman desperate for help
- Leonard Leo won't comply with Senate Democrats' subpoena in Supreme Court ethics probe
- Wilmer Valderrama talks NCIS franchise's 1,000th episode, show's enduring legacy
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Boston College vs. Denver Frozen Four championship game time, TV channel, streaming info
- Urgent care worker accused of sexual assaults while claiming falsely to be a nurse in Philly suburbs
- What we know about the Arizona Coyotes' potential relocation to Salt Lake City
Recommendation
Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
How to get rid of NYC rats without brutality? Birth control is one idea
Search continues in Maine as officer is charged with lying about taking missing person to hospital
Caitlin Clark gets personalized AFC Richmond jersey from 'Ted Lasso' star Jason Sudeikis
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
Eleanor Coppola, matriarch of a filmmaking family, dies at 87
Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes meets soccer legend Lionel Messi before MLS game in Kansas City
Maine governor signs bill restricting paramilitary training in response to neo-Nazi’s plan