4 SoCal Men Charged With Kidnapping Illegal Immigrants for Ransom

Federal authorities have arrested and charged four Southern California men for kidnapping illegal immigrants and demanding that their families pay cash in exchange for their safe return, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles announced Sept. 9. A fifth suspect, Gabriel Michel Becerra, 22, of Palmdale is still at large. The four have been arraigned and pleaded not guilty. They are: Miguel Angel Avila, 22, of Hemet; Omar Avila Salmeron, 41, of South Los Angeles; Jose Jaime Garcia, 20, of San Jacinto; and Jose Alfredo Moreno Gonzalez, 21, of Oak Hills. “These defendants allegedly preyed upon victims who sought to emigrate to our country by demanding ransom from the victims’ families in exchange for their release,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada of the Los Angeles office said in a press release Monday....