Von Ormy Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Kidnap and Transport Non-U.S. Citizen

SAN ANTONIO – A Von Ormy man was sentenced in a federal court in San Antonio on Tuesday to 220 months in prison for one count of conspiracy to kidnap and one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury.

According to court documents, Andrew Carrillo, 30, was an accomplice to Rosalio Cano Jr. in the smuggling and kidnapping of an undocumented noncitizen in September 2021.  After meeting at Cano’s residence, where the kidnapped migrant had been held, Carrillo and Cano drove separately to an Econo Lodge in San Antonio.  Carrillo had designated the motel’s parking lot as the location where he and Cano would hand the kidnapped migrant over to the migrant’s family in exchange for cash.  Unbeknownst to Carrillo, he and another codefendant, Veronica Ortega, had been communicating and negotiating the migrant’s release with an undercover officer who had accompanied the migrant’s family member to the exchange.  After the undercover officer handed Carrillo and Ortega the $9,000 in U.S. currency, Homeland Security Investigations agents moved in to arrest the three defendants.  Carrillo and Ortega were taken into custody, while Cano fled and was arrested by the U.S. Marshal’s Service on Oct. 14, 2021.

Carrillo pleaded guilty to both counts on Feb. 7, 2023.  In addition to the prison sentence, Carrillo was ordered to pay $7,025.78 in restitution.

“The penalties in this case reflect the grave dangers of human smuggling,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.  “While restitution cannot erase the trauma kidnapping victims endure, we hope it will provide some measure of relief.  We will not stop working to protect the vulnerable people who are targeted for human smuggling and will continue to aggressively prosecute offenders.”

“Not only did these human smugglers conspire to undermine our nation’s immigration laws, but they also used intimidation and violence for their own profit,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee for Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio Division.  “If you enter into an agreement with a human smuggler, your loved one will not be treated with respect, they will simply be seen as a commodity, and will be placed in extreme danger.”

Cano was sentenced on Dec. 29, 2022 to 190 months in prison and ordered to pay $7,025.78 in restitution.  On Jan. 3, 2023, Ortega was sentenced to 60 months of probation and was also ordered to pay $7,025.78 in restitution.

HSI investigated the case with valuable assistance from the San Antonio Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Hail prosecuted the case.

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