FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC at 410-209-4885
MAY 18, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KIDNAPER OF FREDERICK WOMAN SENTENCED TO 4 YEARS IN PRISON
BALTIMORE, Maryland - Jose Francisco Padilla-Colin, age 28, of Cuerna Vaca, Morales, Mexico was sentenced today to four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for kidnaping, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein
According to the statement of facts presented to the court on January 24, 2006, Frederick police officers responded to a report on July 19, 2005 that a person had been abducted. The witness was in a store when he heard a female screaming. The witness stepped outside and noticed a female struggling with Padilla-Colin, near the Ford dealership on Waverly Drive in Frederick. The witness observed Padilla-Colin punch the victim in the face and throw her into a dark green SUV. The witness advised that another man, later identified as Hugo Arnaldo Aguilar-Mejia, age 36, of Palmdale, California, was driving the car. After the victim was forced into the vehicle, they headed west on Route 40.
Investigators were approached by the father of the victim, who had gone out to look for her when she did not arrive at home after work. The father advised that his daughter had been in contact with an acquaintance known to them as Hugo A. Aguilar, who resided in Palmdale, California and had come to Maryland to see his daughter. During the investigation, the daughter’s mother called to advise her husband she had just received a telephone call from their daughter. During this call, their daughter stated that she was “okay,” but was clearly upset and was crying. When her mother advised her that the police were looking for her, the telephone was hung up.
Based on the information from the victim’s parents, investigators were able to determine the license number and issue a nationwide alert for Aguilar-Mejia’s vehicle. On July 21, 2005, in Memphis, Texas local law enforcement stopped the SUV for speeding and arrested the driver, Aguilar-Mejia. The officer spoke to the victim who said she had been forcibly abducted from Maryland and taken to Texas against her will. She advised the officer that Padilla-Colin had been previously dropped off in Willis, Texas.
In imposing the sentence today, U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson, took into account the cooperation that Padilla-Colin provided to the government in this case.
Aguilar-Mejia pled guilty to kidnaping on February 16, 2006 and was sentenced to six years in prison on May 4, 2006.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Frederick Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew G. W. Norman, who is prosecuting the case.
This page last modified—May 19, 2006