Man charged with kidnapping woman in East El Paso
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Gabriel Julian Chaparro, 21, is charged with aggravated kidnapping after police say he took a woman against her will.
Police officers were called out to Cayuga Circle in East El Paso, not far from St. Mark's Catholic Church, the morning of November 23.
Crimes Against Persons detectives say that Chaparro released the victim after he realized that police were looking for them. The victim was able to make contact with the officers, and provided additional details about her ordeal.
The victim told police that she was allegedly assaulted before she says Chaparro took her against her will.
Police found Chaparro and charged him with aggravated kidnapping causing bodily injury and assault family violence. The officers booked him into the El Paso County Detention Facility on a combined $20,000 bond.
ABC-7 reached out to the El Paso District Attorney's Office for comment on the assault family violence charge. A spokesperson for District Attorney James Montoya says that such domestic violence cases are important for Montoya's office. In October 2024, then-candidate Montoya spoke to ABC-7 about the DA's recently-reinstituted Domestic Violence Unit.
"The need to have specialized lawyers working on these cases is very high," Montoya told ABC-7 just before the November 2024 election, in which El Pasoans voted him into office. Since his election, Montoya's office has highlighted its work on domestic violence cases.
Read the full statement from District Attorney James Montoya below:
"While we cannot comment on Mr. Chaparro’s case specifically, the DA's Office takes domestic violence cases extremely seriously. Prioritizing domestic violence cases when they happen and giving them the attention they deserve is homicide prevention. That is to say, swift and early intervention can reduce the likelihood of future violence. Our grant-funded Domestic Violence Unit works to identify the cases where victims are most at risk for future violence and proactively notify them of the services available to support them, including resources for when they are ready to leave the relationship -- which studies indicate is also the most dangerous time for someone who’s been a victim of intimate partner violence."
District Attorney James Montoya
