FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC at 410-209-4885
MAY 4, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KIDNAPER OF FREDERICK WOMAN SENTENCED TO 6 YEARS IN PRISON
BALTIMORE, Maryland - Hugo Arnaldo Aguilar-Mejia, age 36, of Palmdale, California, was sentenced today to 6 years in prison, followed by 3 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 February 16, 2006 at Aguilar-Mejia’s guilty plea, on July 19, 2005 Frederick police officers responded to a report that a person had been abducted. The witness reported that he was in a store when he heard a female screaming. The witness stepped outside the building and noticed a female struggling with Jose Francisco Padilla-Colin, age 28, of Cuerna Vaca, Morales, Mexico, 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 with unknown registration plates. The witness advised that another man, identified as Aguilar-Mejia was driving the car and 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 after she did not arrive at home after work, as expected. 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 provided by 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 stated among other things, that she had been forcibly abducted from Maryland and taken to Texas against her will and that she wanted to be taken back to her parents in Maryland as soon as possible. She advised the officer that Padilla-Colin had been previously dropped off in Willis, Texas.
Padilla-Colin faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without parole, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years supervised release. Padilla-Colin pled guilty to kidnaping on January 24, 2006 and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 18, 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 4, 2006