Texan Pleads Guilty To Kidnapping Arkansas Man

MONROE, La. –A Texan pleaded guilty to his part in kidnapping an Arkansas man and lying to an FBI agent, U.S.Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today.

Aldo Cantu, 20, of Lufkin, Texas, entered a conditional guilty plea to one count of kidnapping and one count of lying to an FBI Special Agent to U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Hayes. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. James. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing, Cantu conspired with Anthony Segura, also of Lufkin, Texas, and others, to kidnap a man from his Pine Bluff, Ark., home at gunpoint on November 16, 2014. They drove the victim to a Lake Providence, La., service station and there the victim escaped. East Carroll Parish Sheriff’s deputies responded. The defendants later lied to FBI Special Agents saying they had not traveled to Arkansas that night and did not participate in the kidnapping. Anthony Segura pleaded guilty to kidnapping and lying to an FBI Special Agent on July 30, 2014.

Cantu and Segura face a maximum of life in prison and five years of supervised release for kidnapping, and a maximum of five years in prison and three years of supervised release for lying to an FBI Special Agent. They both also face a $250,000 fine. The defendants’ sentencing date is scheduled for November 4, 2014.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted this investigation with the assistance from the East Carroll Parish Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative designed to reduce firearm crimes by removing dangerous and persistent felons from the community and promote firearm safety.