El Pasoan sentenced for role in ‘hostage-taking conspiracy’
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Pasoan Valerie Perez, 22, received a 10-year prison sentence for her role in a hostage-taking conspiracy. Federal prosecutors say Perez held ten undocumented migrants, including three children, in inhumane conditions in a stash house in Chaparral.
HSI and Border Patrol agents busted the stash house in April 2024. Federal prosecutors say that Perez and her coconspirator had been detaining the victims, threatening them with physical harm, and coercing their families into sending money.
Perez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit hostage taking, admitting that she participated in detaining undocumented individuals, threatening them with harm, and extorting money from their families and friends in exchange for their release.
Federal prosecutors say that at the time of her arrest in April 2024, Perez was on supervised release for a previous conviction. She had previously been convicted of transporting undocumented migrants.
