U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Texas
Tim Johnson, Acting U.S. Attorney

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOV. 25, 2008

KIDNAPPER SENTENCED

(LAREDO, Texas) - Mario Jesus Obregon, 41, has been sentenced to prison for conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, and using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, acting United States Attorney Tim Johnson announced today.

Convicted by a jury's verdict in Aug. 2007 of conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping and using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, Obregon, of Laredo, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge George P. Kazen to a total of 312 months in federal prison without parole and fined $25,000 for these convictions. The prison term is to be followed by a five year term of supervised release.

During the trial of this case, the government called a total of 19 witnesses including the victim and several crime scene investigators who had examined evidence collected from Obregon's residence located in the country Club subdivision, Plantation, of Laredo. Obregon, who years earlier had won millions of dollars in an unrelated personal injury case, also testified at trial. The jury found that on Feb. 17, 2007, Obregon, Christopher Cardenas, Ruben Cabrera (Kiko), Santos Ramiro Martinez, Rogelio Garcia (Koki) and Enrique Adriano (Kike) confronted the victim at Obregon's residence about possible stealing and/or threats. The victim was beaten and threatened at gunpoint including an AK-47 rifle, a mini-rifles, an AR-15 rifle and a .9 mm handgun. The victim was tied up and put in a vehicle and his personal belongings were taken from him. Garcia and Adriano then drove the victim from Obregon's residence into Mexico where he was shot twice and left for dead. The victim miraculously survived the shootings and was able to contact a friend who notified U.S. law enforcement officers.

Garcia, Martinez, Cabrera and Cardenas are presently serving lengthy prison terms ranging from 96 months to 319 months in federal prison without parole for their roles in the kidnapping. Obregon and the others sentenced in this case have also been ordered (jointly and severally) to pay restitution for the victim's medical bills in the amount of $149,721.60. Obregon has been in federal custody since his arrest in February 2007.

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the South Texas Violent Crime Task Force, the Laredo Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Graciela Rodriguez Lindberg.