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TUCSON, Ariz.– On Nov. 17, 2014, Luis Humberto Contreras-Figueroa, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jose A. Sototo 10 years in prison and placed on 5 years of federal supervision following his sentence. Contreras-Figueroa pleaded guilty on Aug. 29, 2014, to one count of conspiracy to commit hostage-taking.
On the evening of April 12, 2010, Contreras-Figueroa, along with 5 other individuals, conspired to kidnap and hold for ransom another individual over the disappearance of 600 pounds of marijuana. Federal agents intervened and freed the bound hostage, capturing five of the six hostage-takers on scene, along with weapons that included an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle. Each of the five pleaded guilty between 2011-2012 and were sentenced to prison terms ranging up to ten years.
A warrant remained outstanding for Contreras-Figueroa, who had left the scene just before federal agents arrived and then immediately fled to Mexico. Based on tips received in February, 2014, federal agents learned that Contreras-Figueroa was back in Arizona. Within two weeks he was in federal custody.
The investigation in this case was conducted by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Tucson, Az. The prosecution was handled by Micah Schmit, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.
CASE NUMBER: CR-14-0614-TUC-JAS
RELEASE NUMBER: 2014-065_Contreras-Figueroa
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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