Mexican National Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in the Hostage Taking and Murdering U.S. Citizen in Tijuana

SAN DIEGO – Brian Alexis Patron Lopez, a Mexican National, was sentenced in federal court today to life imprisonment. The sentence comes after a federal jury found Patron guilty for his role in the kidnapping, hostage taking, torture, and murder of 18-year-old M.A.R., a U.S. citizen whose death was punishment for a drug dispute.

The jury deliberated for less than a full day at the end of a seven-day trial. The jury found Patron guilty on all counts, including Intentional Killing While Engaged in Drug Trafficking, Hostage Taking Resulting in Death, and Conspiracy to Commit Hostage Taking Resulting in Death.

“Here’s a wakeup call to drug traffickers and cartel members in Tijuana: You harm an American, you will face American justice,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, “This sentence appropriately reflects the grim reality of drug trafficking in Tijuana. But, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to secure justice for crimes against American citizens even if they occur south of the border.”

“Patron’s callous and blatant disregard for human life is unconscionable,” said Mark Dargis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Today’s life sentence is the price Patron must pay for such a gruesome attack on a U.S. citizen and the pain inflicted on his family. The FBI will always work relentlessly with our law enforcement partners devoting every available resource, tool, and technique at our disposable to hold violent criminals accountable and seek justice for our citizens.”

The victim was abducted from a hotel in Tijuana, Mexico on May 29, 2020. He was then beaten, tortured, and finally shot to death, all while his attackers sought a ransom from his family. His body was recovered on a hillside in Tijuana six days later.

According to evidence presented at trial, on May 29, 2020, at approximately 11:57 p.m., Patron and others forcibly removed the victim from his hotel room. Patron and others punched, kicked, and pistol-whipped M.A.R. Once subdued, the attackers put M.A.R. in a waiting car and drove away.

Patron and his co-conspirators then drove M.A.R. to Patron’s neighborhood, where they continued to beat and torture M.A.R. At around the same time, Patron and his co-conspirators began to make ransom demands on M.A.R.’s family over texts and calls, with the demand ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 to methamphetamine in exchange for M.A.R.’s release.

In the afternoon of May 30, 2020, Patron and his co-conspirators brought M.A.R. to a different motel and then to an apartment before bringing him to a deserted hillside on the night of May 30, 2020. There, Patron fatally shot M.A.R., even as his family attempted to pay his ransom.

During the trial, the government presented evidence connecting Patron to the crimes, including Facebook messages between Patron and co-conspirators about the crimes, plus surveillance video that captured the kidnapping outside a Tijuana hotel. In that video, Patron wore a jacket that matched the one he wore earlier in the night. Patron’s bracelet was left behind at the kidnapping and was later recovered by law enforcement. Patron was wearing the same bracelet in Facebook photos posted before the murder. Jurors were also presented with the call logs and WhatsApp messages with the ransom demands and proof-of-life evidence.

At sentencing, a member of the victim’s family informed the Court that the Defendant “didn’t just take [the victim’s] life, he took a part of mine.” She continued, explaining that “every day, I wake up with pain that will never go away.” And closed by telling the Court, “I want [the Defendant] to carry the weight of what he did for the rest of his life.”

Judge Hayes addressed the Defendant and told him, “You literally walked the victim to his death.” Judge Hayes explained that the victim must have known at some point that he would be killed and, as the Defendant walked the victim down a deserted Tijuana hillside, the victim “knew that he was going to die alone, left with the trash on the hill.” But the Defendant did not care. “You executed him, turned around, walked up that hill and you left.” Judge Hayes added that the victim’s parents “will live with that until they die.”

Judge Hayes closed by sentencing the Defendant to life, as required by statute, on the hostage-taking resulting in death counts, and 420 months (35 years), followed by five years’ Supervised Release for intentional killing while engaged in drug trafficking. All counts to run concurrent.

Assistant U. S. Attorneys Mario Peia and Alexandra F. Foster prosecuted this case.

DEFENDANT                                            Case Number 21CR1683-WQH

Brian Alexis Patron Lopez                            Age: 24            Tijuana, Mexico

AKA Leobardo Garcia

SUMMARY OF CHARGE

Intentional Killing While Engaged in Drug Trafficking, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 848(e)(1)(A)

Maximum Penalty: Life in Prison

Minimum Penalty: Twenty years in Prison

Hostage Taking Resulting in Death, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1203

Maximum Penalty: Life in Prison

Minimum Penalty: Life in Prison

Conspiracy to Take Hostages Resulting in Death, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1203.

Maximum Penalty: Life in Prison

Minimum Penalty: Life in Prison

INVESTIGATING AGENCY

Federal Bureau of Investigation

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.